‘Young people aren’t a monolith,’ but support is mounting for Kamala Harris, Nevada DNC delegate says

Harris resonates much better with younger voters, Young Democrats of Nevada executive director Tanner Hale told The Nevadan, because her demeanor is joyful and her policies are centered around economic justice. 

As executive director for the Young Democrats of Nevada, Tanner Hale has had his work cut out for him this election. 

Politicians on both sides seeking the presidency have long considered America’s newest voters — typically defined as ranging in age from 18-29 — an untapped voting bloc that, if activated, could be a difference-maker. Hale saw as much in 2020, when Nevada helped carry then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden to electoral victory over Republican Donald Trump. 

But that was when Hale was a volunteer. Now, he’s running the show. 

Young Democrats of Nevada executive director Tanner Hale. (Photo: Courtesy)

“It wasn’t my intent to work in politics from a young age, but it’s definitely the calling that I found in my life,” Hale, 28, recently told The Nevadan during a phone interview. “It was just a really amazing moment when we won in 2020, and I realized that I had a place in this kind of work, and I wanted to continue to do this.” 

Hale is also one of Nevada’s 49 delegates to this week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where Vice President Kamala Harris will accept her party’s presidential nomination Thursday night. Her nomination caps a month-long surprising turn of fortune for Democrats, after Biden announced in July that he was ending his own re-election campaign and supporting Harris. 

Biden, at 81, is the oldest sitting US President. And while Biden remains a popular figure in Democratic politics, polls routinely showed that most of the American electorate believed he was too old to pursue a second term. Coupled with the potential 2020 rematch against Trump, Hale said young voters were well aware of the stakes of this election, but weren’t necessarily enthused. 

MORE: Kamala Harris unveils plans to lower housing, food, and childcare costs for Nevada families

Then, Harris emerged. And the memes. 

“When Harris joined the race I was texting people to gauge support, and they would just send back the coconut tree emoji,” Hale said, adding that recruiting volunteers and donors among his base have surged since Biden officially dropped out on July 21. “It’s given young people a really exciting opportunity to see that torch get passed, to see a new generation of leadership, and young people are just through the roof excited now. It’s just been so revitalizing.”

Hale claims membership is up and so is fundraising. In a swing state like Nevada, where recent polling shows a virtual tie between Harris and Trump, youth turnout could be the deciding factor in which candidate ultimately carries the Silver State, and perhaps ultimately the presidency. 

Biden bested Trump in Nevada by roughly 30,000 votes in 2020. At the same time, Youth turnout was estimated to be at 53%, according to the nonpartisan Tufts University-affiliated research group CIRCLE, a 14% gain from the 2016 presidential race. 

The group also found that voter turnout for young voters aged 18-19 exceeded that of all other voters under 30 in 2020. That marked the second-straight election (2018) in which new voter turnout was higher than the overall 18-29 demographic, which usually isn’t the case.

Harris resonates much better with younger voters, Hale said, because her demeanor is joyful and her policies are centered around economic justice. Her recent proposals to build 3 million affordable housing units and down payment assistance for first time homeowners are popular, Hale said, adding that she has signaled she would expand on Biden’s efforts to provide student debt relief. 

“I think in this election, we have a very clear contrast between a candidate [Harris] who is saying, you have something to vote for, you have a future to vote for,” Hale said. “And then there’s Donald Trump, who is focused on the past. He’s focused on himself, and he’s not talking about issues that are making young people feel that there is a path for them and their future.”

But at the same time, young people aren’t unified around a single issue, Hale said. Some are prioritizing safeguarding reproductive rights, while others are more concerned with US involvement with the war in Gaza. Either way, Hale and others will be full steam ahead to energize young folks ahead of the Nov. 5 election. 

“Young people aren’t a monolith,” Hale said. “Ballots are dropping soon, and so our window to talking to voters, and really that space to change minds and change hearts is dwindling. We need to make sure that we’re getting them out to the polls and making sure that they understand their voting plans.”