Some Democrats see social media as key to reaching voters : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/8083x5389+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fdc%2F83%2F1c4a5c9e4ca5afc75af16b126e19%2Fgettyimages-2224660177.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/8083x5389+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fdc%2F83%2F1c4a5c9e4ca5afc75af16b126e19%2Fgettyimages-2224660177.jpg" class="img" alt="Democratic U.S. congressional candidate Adelita Grijalva poses with supporters at a primary election-night party at El Casino Ballroom on July 15, 2025, in South Tucson, Ariz. Grijalva said social media is important but it is just one tool in a tool kit that needs to include grassroots organizing, coalition building and talking with people." fetchpriority="high"/> Democratic U.S. congressional candidate Adelita Grijalva poses with supporters at a major election-night celebration at El On line casino Ballroom on July 15, 2025, in South Tucson, Ariz. Grijalva mentioned social media is vital nevertheless it is only one device in a device package that should embrace grassroots organizing, coalition constructing and speaking with folks. Rebecca Noble/Getty Photographs cover caption

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Rebecca Noble/Getty Photographs <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5085x5085+1272+0/resize/100/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F89%2F5b8d5fe0404ea25bdefa635f6606%2Fgettyimages-1538732538.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5085x5085+1272+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F89%2F5b8d5fe0404ea25bdefa635f6606%2Fgettyimages-1538732538.jpg" data-format="jpeg" class="img lazyOnLoad" alt="New York Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres, on the right, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill July 17, 2023 in Washington, D.C." loading="lazy"/>

Rep. Ritchie Torres is a self-described introvert, however you may not guess that if you happen to've seen him on social media. The 37-year-old Democrat from New York Metropolis routinely posts movies of himself on TikTok, YouTube and Fb, regardless that he says that — as a millennial born earlier than smartphones — he isn't a pure at performing in entrance of a digicam.

However Torres has embraced on-line movies as a result of, he says, to succeed as a politician at present: "You must grasp what I name 'the three threes.'"

He means a 30-second vertical video, a three-minute cable information hit, and a three-hour filmed podcast interview.

"Anybody who can grasp all three will excel within the new media ecosystem that has taken maintain in American politics," Torres mentioned.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5760x3840+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa4%2F98%2F3b060c4149edb2adda5c3c69ae3a%2Fap24303671461621.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5760x3840+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa4%2F98%2F3b060c4149edb2adda5c3c69ae3a%2Fap24303671461621.jpg" class="img" alt="In this file photo, Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 7, 2023." loading="lazy"/> On this file picture, Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., speaks throughout a information convention on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 7, 2023. Mariam Zuhaib/AP cover caption

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Mariam Zuhaib/AP

And he maintains that it isn't solely a matter of excelling; it is about surviving. Torres calls this an "extinction second for institution politics": that if politicians do not get critical about speaking with voters, and non-voters, in all of the digital areas the place folks at present get their data, and generally misinformation, they're unlikely to final lengthy within the enterprise.

"You get good at it otherwise you change into extinct. I imply, that is life, proper?" he added. "That is evolution. Both adapt or die."

Ever since President Trump was reelected in 2024, the Democratic celebration has been agonizing over what it did fallacious. Now, as Democrats put together for subsequent yr's important midterm elections, they're attempting to determine not simply their messaging, however how and the place to achieve voters. And a few political analysts say Republicans are trouncing Democrats in the case of reaching folks on-line, particularly by means of on-line movies.

"Democrats are usually not practically pretty much as good communicators as they need to be on social media," mentioned Sivan Jacobovitz, co-founder of Van Ness Artistic Methods, a digital company that works to elect Democrats. Torres is one in all its purchasers.

"A politician ought to be on all of the out there mediums the place they'll speak to voters, whether or not that is social media, TV, the newspaper, or the native press," Jacobovitz defined. "However so many elected officers are viewing social media within the lens of an afterthought or an intern's job, when it is the number-one place that individuals are at present getting their information in America."

Certainly, greater than 50 p.c of People now get their information from social media, and about 75 p.c watch information in video type, in response to a current research by the Reuters Institute for the Examine of Journalism. But when Jacobovitz's firm tallied what number of members of Congress up for election are posting on-line movies, it discovered that many barely are.

Jacobovitz additionally says Democrats typically appear extra scripted than Republicans and hesitant to go on bro pods and the manosphere, realms that Donald Trump is extensively seen as having conquered, letting him attain a variety of People who keep away from politics. That offers Republicans a strategic benefit over Democrats, making it crucial for Democrats to be on these platforms, too.

"The defeat we had in 2024 felt not solely like an electoral defeat, however like a cultural defeat," Jacobovitz mentioned. "To somebody on-line, it could appear very apparent what we're saying right here, however that is actually the issue we try to sound the alarm on, is that issues that appear very apparent to individuals are not systemically being accomplished."

That sense of urgency was accelerated by this summer season's upset win in New York Metropolis's mayoral major by 33-year-old Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, who's effortlessly snug on-line. He typically movies his interactions with New Yorkers and posts the movies on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Fb. That has spurred copycat efforts by his political rivals, together with Instagram movies of Andrew Cuomo jumpstarting a automotive and Eric Adams doing pullups.

Jacobovitz's company has suggested Democratic politicians that if they are not snug with that communication model, "now is a good time to retire." In fact, his company makes cash creating on-line political movies, so it may gain advantage from criticizing offline politicians.

To that cost, Jacobovitz has this retort: "We often inform candidates we work with: You need not rent us to do it, however it is advisable to have somebody doing it who is aware of what they're doing, and that somebody could also be their child."

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7200x4800+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F23%2F87%2F9b1e505346a8a71760727a6445f2%2Fgettyimages-2224660134.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7200x4800+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F23%2F87%2F9b1e505346a8a71760727a6445f2%2Fgettyimages-2224660134.jpg" class="img" alt="Campaign staff react to early results at a primary election-night party for Democratic U.S. congressional candidate Adelita Grijalva at El Casino Ballroom on July 15, 2025 in South Tucson, Arizona." loading="lazy"/> Marketing campaign employees react to early outcomes at a major election-night celebration for Democratic U.S. congressional candidate Adelita Grijalva at El On line casino Ballroom on July 15, 2025 in South Tucson, Arizona. Rebecca Noble/Getty Photographs cover caption

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Rebecca Noble/Getty Photographs That is precisely who Democrat Adelita Grijalva tasked with creating TikTok movies for her present run for Congress in Arizona: her teenage daughter and her daughter's buddy.

"They mentioned, 'You should be on Tiktok,' and I am like, 'I do not know that we've the bandwidth to do this,'" Grijalva recalled. "They're like, 'Effectively, we will do our personal. Is that okay?' I mentioned, 'Positive!'"

The "Youth for Adelita" TikTok account has a few thousand followers -- minuscule in comparison with Grijalva's Gen Z opponent in July's particular major, 25-year-old Deja Foxx, who has practically 4 hundred thousand followers. Foxx is lower than half Grijalva's age and generated large pleasure and {dollars} on-line. However Grijalva beat her by 40 factors.

"Social media is a crucial device in a device package, however elections are usually not received by likes," Grijalva mentioned. "There needs to be a web based presence, nevertheless it ought to be to entice you in to attempt to discover out extra."

Profitable campaigning, she provides, additionally has to contain grassroots-organizing, coalition-building, speaking with the general public, and having insurance policies voters need. Social media "could be very useful in getting data out," Grijalva says, "nevertheless it would not substitute for old school telephone calls and door-to-door."

Skeptics of the social media bandwagon level to that Arizona race as proof that a powerful TikTok following doesn't assure a win. For her half, Foxx notes that Grijalva has a singular benefit: She's the daughter of the congressman who used to carry the seat, 77-year-old Raúl Grijalva, who died earlier this yr.

"I did not have my dad's contacts to name in D.C or advisors to lean on," Foxx mentioned. "I needed to construct this from scratch."

Foxx additionally maintains that regardless that she misplaced, her race exhibits that younger candidates with out legacy political connections can use good social media methods to run viable campaigns. And he or she says attracting voters, particularly younger voters, requires politicians to be seen on-line.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5616x3744+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2F12%2Fc5fb52bb420f99cf3583495d616a%2Fap25192680061898.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5616x3744+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2F12%2Fc5fb52bb420f99cf3583495d616a%2Fap25192680061898.jpg" class="img" alt="In this file photo, activist Deja Foxx participates in the Global Citizen NOW conference in New York, April 28, 2023. Foxx ran for Congress in 2025 and lost in a Democratic primary. But the online influencer maintains that Democrats need to embrace social media." loading="lazy"/> On this file picture, activist Deja Foxx participates within the International Citizen NOW convention in New York, April 28, 2023. Foxx ran for Congress in 2025 and misplaced in a Democratic major. However the on-line influencer maintains that Democrats must embrace social media. Seth Wenig/AP cover caption

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Seth Wenig/AP "Not everyone in Congress or the Senate or in authorities must be a TikTok star," she added, "however it might be good if we had a couple of in our celebration."

There are some already, together with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York and Jasmine Crockett in Texas, and North Carolina Legal professional Basic Jeff Jackson, a former congressman; they're all Democrats with followers within the thousands and thousands.

However Foxx says many others must do the identical, as a result of TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Fb, video podcasts and different social media websites are the place so many People are, and which means politicians have to be there, too.

"If we do not spend money on leaders who're efficient messengers in these social media and new media areas inside our celebration," she added, "there might be no celebration for my era to inherit."

Torres, the Democratic New York congressman, agrees.

"The outcomes of the 2024 election revealed that Republicans usually, and Donald Trump particularly, have a mastery of recent media," he says. "The principles of politics are being radically rewritten, and lots of of my colleagues are struggling to regulate to the brand new actuality."