Harris campaign revitalizes young voters in North Carolina
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- As memes such as "coconut tree," and "brat summer," emerge on social media, it's giving a big boost to Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign for president.
"I feel a lot more enthusiastic about the whole campaign now because I'm like, I feel I can back something," Braeden Harper said.
Harper is a Gen-Z voter who "feels the Kamalove," as he connected with other supporters at a political event in Rolesville on Sunday.
"I feel like this is just something that a lot of the youth just wanted to see," Harper said. "We'll see how it goes."
In less than a week, Harris' campaign raised more than $200 million with more than two-thirds of the total coming from first-time donors, according to the campaign.
According to vote.org, more than 100,000 registered last week, with a majority of new voters registering under the age of 35.
"I feel like we're sensing a real surge of enthusiasm," Liz Purvis said.
ALSO SEE: What happens to Robinson if Cooper becomes VP pick?
Purvis, who's the secretary of Young Democrats of North Carolina, said while she's seen young voters be engaged in past election cycles, this cycle seems to be heating up.
"I also think young voters want to be a part of something historic, and the first Black Southeast Asian woman president would be a really historic thing to be able to vote into being," Purvis said.
With 100 days left until Election Day, Purvis is working hard to get more young North Carolinians to vote, but she said she's more confident as there seems to be a new explosion of energy among young voters.
"I think that there really are already a lot of folks on these teams who are young," Purvis said. "It's just a matter of more people getting involved and stepping into these things."
The North Carolina Federation of Young Republicans said they have also seen a surge of young voters reach out to them from across the state over the past couple of weeks looking to get involved.
"I think this is a great indicator for youth voter turnout for this election cycle. We plan to capitalize on this moment to encourage our base to get out the vote in our communities," NCFYR Chairwoman Emily Stack said.
