JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
As millions of kids head back to school and summer draws to a close, at least one presidential campaign is heading into the classroom. Well, sort of. Vice President Harris' campaign announced new investments in reaching the youngest voters, which includes college students. But the Trump campaign doesn't want to be left behind as it tries to appeal to this vital voting bloc. NPR's Elena Moore covers young voters and joins us here in studio to help us understand how each campaign is courting college kids and other Gen Zers. Hi, Elena.
ELENA MOORE, BYLINE: Hey.
SUMMERS: Elena, I want to start by talking about this new move by the Harris campaign. They're investing in college students, as you've reported. Tell us about this.
MOORE: Yeah, so the campaign has a goal - reach about 150 campuses across 11 states, including those key battlegrounds you always hear about. Here's Vice President Harris' call to action.
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VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: So as you begin this school year, I'm calling on you to understand and know the stakes of this election, not only for our country, but for you.
MOORE: So this video was part of a new back-to-school organizing push by the campaign that NPR was first to report. Harris is doubling her campaign's youth organizing staff. And she's also going to run ads on social media, in school newspapers and on college websites. And the campaign also launched a college tour with Harris surrogates. And that pretty much began immediately. Yesterday we saw Gen Z Congressman Maxwell Frost visiting a few schools in North Carolina.
SUMMERS: OK and how does this new push that you've been reporting on complement what the campaign's already doing?
MOORE: Well, when President Biden was leading the charge, his campaign did invest in youth organizing and early. You know, they had staff dedicated to engaging young voters since the beginning of the year. And they launched a student-focused program back in March. So these moves from Harris are really, you know, kind of building on that initial rollout, especially since the campaign absorbed a lot of the same staff.
SUMMERS: But the Trump campaign has its own outreach, right? Tell us what that's looking like.
MOORE: Well, notably, his campaign has collaborated a bunch with Turning Point Action, which is the organizing wing of the youth-focused conservative group that has long backed Trump. The former president has also made a point to reach younger voters online. He's got a pretty popular TikTok account, and he's appeared with prominent social media influencers, and he's done interviews on popular podcasts with comedians and content creators. And I should also mention that one of the Trump campaign's top messengers is a member of Gen Z herself, National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
SUMMERS: Elena, tell us, why are the campaigns putting such an emphasis on courting this group? We know that young voters don't have a particularly long history of showing up to vote.
MOORE: That is true. They do not. I mean, over the past few election cycles, we have seen that change slightly. Turnout has noticeably actually increased among voters under 30. And it's worth noting that these campaigns have different goals, Juana. Like, young voters typically support Democratic candidates, and they're a part of the party's base. But Trump, on the other hand, doesn't need to rely on that group.
SUMMERS: Right.
MOORE: You know, he hasn't in the past. And that said, if he can shave off some of the support Democrats get, I mean, that could matter.
SUMMERS: I mean, Elena, you're our young voter expert. Knowing what you know, do you think these different approaches by the Trump and Harris campaigns are working?
MOORE: I mean, we know both campaigns are emphasizing reaching voters online given how, you know, many people actively use social media. But at the same time, while having TikTok is very fun and all, a lot of young people tell me they want to see their politicians actually show up for them in person as well. And I will also just add that, you know, Trump has had consistent support from young conservatives. But for Democrats, it's fluctuated. I mean, Harris is getting a boost right now, but these voters also soured on Biden this year. So, you know, it always gets back to this question of will they vote. You know, the momentum might be there right now. But 70 days for Gen Z could be an eternity.
SUMMERS: NPR's Elena Moore. Thank you.
MOORE: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHARLIE PUTH AND JUNG KOOK SONG, "LEFT AND RIGHT") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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