CHICAGO (WSVN) — There’s a TikTok takeover at the Democratic National Convention as Kamala Harris’ campaign rolls out an army of influencers in hopes of encouraging younger voters.
With 76 says left until Election Day, Democrats are turning to social media to try to reach this younger demographic, and influencers are playing a big role. 7News spoke to several of them as the convention went into its third day.
After Harris she went from running mate to the top of the Democratic ticket, viral moments like those captured in TikTok videos show the party’s attempts to harness the power and pull of influencers at the 2024 DNC in Chicago. The party credentialed more than 200 to cover the week’s events.
Parker Short, president of the Young Democrats of Georgia, is also an influencer with newfound access to his party’s convention.
A 7News crew on Monday spotted comedian Allison Reese in the security line. She made a splash on social media with her Kamala Harris impression.
Olivia Julianna, an activist and influencer from Texas, made a name for herself when she went toe-to-toe with U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on abortion rights.
“The issue is that the majority, all generations of Americans care about, are the same issues that young voters care about,” she said, “so, for us, a lot of that is the Dobbs decision, so Dobbs and democracy.
Another influencer is homegrown. Shermann “Dilla” Thomas loves to look into the history of Chicago and now conducts tours of the city. A 7News crew rode along with him on his bus.
“I don’t know if you all know about horses, but they don’t care where they go. They just go,” he said during one of his tours.
Thomas has a unique position as a local Chicago resident with a desire to spotlight parts of the city that most delegates, politicians and journalists might not see.
“The other thing about being involved with the DNC is that I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t just going to come to Chicago and spend millions of dollars in downtown Chicago or the ‘good parts’ of Chicago, right?” he said. “Come November, they’re going to want Black people to vote for them, brown people to vote for them, Asian people to vote for them, Black business owners, women business owners, so the way to get that vote is to spend some of that money with those people.”
Thomas credited party leaders for thinking differently about their outreach.
“There’s an 80% chance that if you get nominated here in Chicago, you’re probably going to go on to win, or be reelected,” he said.
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