Back in February, when Headway first teamed up with Chalkbeat to engage with teenagers about the upcoming presidential election, one of the early questions we wanted to explore had to do with representation.
We wanted to know how President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump — the two oldest major-party presidential nominees in U.S. history — connected with teenagers. What common ground, if any, did 14- to 19-year-olds find with these candidates or their policies? At meetings we convened with teenagers in the New York Times newsroom, most found little common ground with either candidate.
By asking teenagers these questions, we hoped to gain insights into how this disconnect might influence their civic engagement. And we hoped to learn more about potential voter turnout among young voters — a group that saw its third-highest turnout in history during the 2020 election (since the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1971).
With Vice President Kamala Harris now leading the Democratic ticket after Mr. Biden dropped out, our questions remain: How much do teenagers feel represented in this election? What factors are influencing their decisions? And how do those factors shape their engagement in civic life?
These questions bring us to Week 6 of the Headway Election Challenge!
‘Please don’t just throw out my application’
Lucas Robbins, a 17-year-old senior at Mandela International Magnet School in Santa Fe, N.M., has been representing young people since sixth grade when he became a co-president of his class.
Mr. Robbins, however, traces his deeper interest in politics back to a field trip he took in 10th grade. On that trip, he visited the New Mexico State Capitol building and saw firsthand where decisions were made. Feeling inspired, he went back to school that day and searched online to see if the state legislature had any internships for high school students. He didn’t find any, but he did come across a general employment application for the New Mexico House of Representatives. He filled it out and sent in a cover letter, he said, writing at the bottom of it: “I know I’m in high school. Please don’t just throw my application out because I think I could bring some value to this position.”
To Mr. Robbins’s surprise, his application led to an interview and ultimately an internship working in different roles at the State Capitol. He will start his fourth legislative session at the beginning of 2025. He has also held leadership roles in his school, serving as student council treasurer for three years and president for one. He is one of three student representatives on the Santa Fe Public Schools Board and is a member of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Board.
His engagement in politics comes from his belief in the importance of making sure young people’s voices are represented in decision-making. As he put it: “Youth are just not really heard often, but it’s important that we do get heard. So I seek out opportunities where I can represent youth, because I think it’s important. And a lot of people, I feel like, don’t really realize what we’re missing out on.”
Representation is more than memes
Teenagers have told us over the past year that representation isn’t straightforward — it’s not just about identity or demographics. Ms. Harris’s campaign, for example, has thrived on viral moments aimed at a younger audience, such as posting TikTok clips of her dancing and re-sharing the “kamala IS brat” post by Charli XCX on X, formerly Twitter.
But Navya Saxena, a 16-year-old junior at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill., remains skeptical of this type of outreach. While she acknowledges that Ms. Harris projects a “youthful energy,” particularly compared with Mr. Trump, she’s critical of how both parties avoid discussing policies that matter to young people.
“When I was watching the presidential debate, they were arguing against each other, but they weren’t saying what they would actually want to change,” Ms. Saxena said. “I remember Trump saying he had concepts of a plan. Like, what does that even mean? And then I remember Kamala Harris, anytime immigration came up, she would also kind of just shy away from that topic. So I think both candidates are not discussing future policies.”
Mr. Robbins believes that while campaigns try to engage young people through social media and memes, these efforts often overlook deeper concerns. Reflecting on the viral “kamala is brat” meme, he noted how quickly it shifted when the campaign adopted it.
“It just lost most of its value,” he said. “It became a branding tactic rather than something we created. It felt like they were trying to exploit us. When politicians take something organic and turn it into a marketing campaign, it feels like thievery.”
This shift in messaging, Mr. Robbins said, is part of a larger pattern in which campaigns target young people for their votes but rarely incorporate their concerns into policy.
“Much more valuable than that,” he said, “would be messaging from the campaign that says, ‘These are the issues we know you care about, and this is what we want to do.’”
Policy is important to Ms. Saxena, too. She has been a dedicated member of her school’s congressional debate club since her freshman year. She is also a news editor for her school newspaper, The Statesman. Despite not being old enough to vote, she knows that policies and decisions made today will affect her future. Her older sister has been a key influence, encouraging Ms. Saxena to be politically active and critically analyze what she sees on social media.
“I know that these policies and these candidates are going to affect me in the future, in the very near future, so I still care about what they’re saying and what they actually plan to do,” she said. “So I think that just incentivizes me to research and be active.”
Mr. Robbins said that age mattered in leadership, adding that younger candidates running for office would be a step forward in helping young people feel seen in American politics. But, he added, in one way or another, he believes it has to go beyond memes.
So, teenagers, what do you think?
Week 6 of the Headway Election Challenge starts here!
Anyone — even if you’re not a teenager or a young first-time voter — can stay in the loop by signing up for the Headway newsletter. If you missed any parts of the challenge, go here.
The post Teens, Do You Feel Represented in This Election? appeared first on New York Times.
