Our latest book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics. The early stages of the 2024 race have begun.
President Biden's not-yet-official bid for re-election will lean on hundreds of social media "influencers" who will tout Biden's record — and soon may have their own briefing room at the White House, Axios has learned.
Why it matters:What they're saying: "We're trying to reach young people, but also moms who use different platforms to get information and climate activists and people whose main way of getting information is digital," said Jen O'Malley Dillon, White House deputy chief of staff.
- The move aims to boost Biden's standing among young voters who are crucial to Democrats' success in elections — and to potentially counter former President Trump's massive social media following, if he's the GOP nominee in 2024.Biden's digital strategy team will connect with influencers across the nation to target those who may not follow the White House or Democratic Party on social media — or who have tuned out mainstream media altogether.
- Four Biden digital staffers are focused on influencers and independent content creators. The staffers officially work for the White House, not Biden's campaign — but reaching young and suburban voters is clearly a priority.
- Young voters (ages 18-29) preferred Biden over Trump by a 26-point margin in 2020, and Democrats over Republicans by 28 points in the 2022 midterms.
- A measure of the importance Team Biden is placing on its digital strategy: Rob Flaherty, who leads the effort, has been named assistant to the president — the same rank as the White House communications director and press secretary.
The details: Hundreds of (unpaid and like-minded) content creators are working with Biden's White House. They include:
- Harry Sisson, a 20-year-old NYU student who breaks down the day's news on TikTok;
- Boston College professor Heather Cox Richardson, who has a widely read Substack and huge Twitter following,
- And Vivian Tu, a former trader who discusses financial topics in short clips on TikTok and Instagram.
