Harris campaign expands youth outreach to college newspapers 

There’s a high chance that people who pick up a print edition of The Pitt News are greeted by a Harris ad blanketing the back page. Those reading online may have been welcomed to the website by Harris’ face in a paid video advertisement.

From the Kamala HQ Tiktok to the DNC inviting social media influencers, the Harris campaign has been reaching out to young voters in a multitude of ways. In the 2020 presidential election, 80,500 Pennsylvanian voters decided the election. Since many college students are first-time voters, political campaigns often target this demographic. 

Will Allison, a political associate in southwestern Pennsylvania for the Harris campaign, said advertising in a college newspaper opens up a key demographic.

“The specific reason that young people are being so directly and specifically messaged to is because young people are new voters. It’s people who haven’t been voting. Literally new people who haven’t been exposed to decades and decades of campaign messaging,” Allison said. “College newspapers are a good way of reaching people we can’t otherwise reach.”

Allison assists the Harris campaign in the Southwestern Pennsylvania area, an area of the swing state that could hold the keys to the White House. 

“This election is going to be close in PA, and PA is likely to decide the fate of the national election. So when you’re looking at something like this, you’ve got to pursue every avenue, and you have to pursue every voter that you can,” Allison said.

Assistant professor Jacob Schiller said newspaper ads are one of the many ways to reach all voters. 

“The strategy today is they want to hit everyone. Not everyone is going to be on social media, not everyone is going to read the newspaper, not everyone is going to have a cell phone,” Schiller said. “They are constantly just trying to find anyone new and these ads are a part of a larger strategy that is trying to reach as many people as possible.”

For the Harris campaign, Allison said making a “good first impression” on college students is a priority. 

“With college students, they haven’t been exposed to politics before as adults, and many of them, it is the first time outside of their parents’ political umbrella. So we want to make sure we’re campaigning for them as much as possible, because this is their introduction,” Allison said.

Schiller said political advertising is prominent on college campuses to persuade undecided voters or turnout decided students to the polls. Due to young people often skewing liberal, politicians often focus on turnout. 

“Turning out voters is often seen as a democratic strategy. This year, we’re maybe seeing a little bit more persuasion, given that there’s more division inside the democratic party. So that’s created some disillusionment and dropped enthusiasm among younger voters,” Schiller said. 

In swing states, Schiller said Harris’s goal is to turn out voters who have made up their minds, and focus on those liberal areas within the state. On the other hand, the Trump campaign would focus on conservative areas. 

“It wouldn’t make sense for Donald Trump necessarily to come to Pittsburgh and try to get a high turnout because he’s talking to voters who will more likely give a net benefit of votes to Kamala Harris rather than himself,” Schiller said. 

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. 

Since Harris gained the Democratic Party nomination, Allison says he’s observed a shift in the energy from young voters, with one notable reason being her age. 

“The energy is certainly different, partially because the election was going to be between an 81-year-old man and a 78-year-old man, and now it’s going to be between a 78-year-old man and a woman who I believe may have just turned 60. I think it makes perfect sense that a kind of generational shift like that is exciting young people,” Allison said.

First-year law student Patrick Francis, the press secretary for the Pittsburgh College Democrats, said the Biden campaign focused on COVID-19 relief. Meanwhile, Francis said the Harris campaign is more targeted, with the goal of keeping Trump out of office. 

“Now, when we look at the threat that Trump poses to democracy and the unthinkable possibility of him coming back into office, her messaging, she has her slogan, ‘We’re not going back’,” Francis said. “Meanwhile, the enthusiasm that she brings, it’s not about simply steering us away from the Trump era, but actually moving forward into something new and something better.”

In addition to her age, Allison said he believes Harris brings an enthusiasm that appeals to college students. 

“I think there’s this apathy and almost a depression around politics. There’s just this overwhelming sense of helplessness, because the internet has opened all of our eyes up to how much we are failing,” Allison said. “But Harris is a very hopeful, joyful candidate – even just the fact that she laughs so much, [she] isn’t afraid to be happy on the campaign trail.”

Around 50% of young voters turned out in 2020. Allison says the Harris campaign is aiming to promote even more turnout this election by raising political expectations. 

“Part of what our campaign aims to do is raise young people’s expectations of us and of themselves with what we can do in this political system. As tough as it could be, sometimes as opaque as it can be for young people on the outside looking in, there really is so much we can do,” Allison said. 

As the Harris campaign moves forward, Francis said it must remember what made voters eager about her candidacy. 

“It is important for the Harris campaign to remember what made voters so excited about Biden dropping out at the start, what made everyone super enthusiastic to have fresh energy, with the selection of Tim Walz and the idea of moving forward,” Francis said.

In a term described as a general election pivot, Francis said, as election day gets closer, candidates will moderate their positions to appeal to more voters. 

“Moderate voters do need to be reached, but it’s important that it doesn’t go too far into dampening enthusiasm among the Democratic base,” Francis said. “I don’t think this is a big problem, but I think the campaign should remember that their base needs to stay excited, all the way to election day.”