From a “war room” decorated with political paraphernalia and “great memes” in his mother’s South Jersey home, David Austin, 20, tries to reach Gen Z voters like himself. Raised about $18 million for a super PAC that A person who communicates with young people.
“We need real youth,” says Forward Blue founder Austin. “And that’s part of what a lot of these large organizations miss. Their staff is much older than the generation they’re trying to reach, and they may not fit into this generation’s way of communicating. It relies on historical best practices.
Austin first became involved in politics at the age of 10, in middle school, during former President Donald Trump’s first campaign about 10 years ago. Since then, he says, he’s put off going to college, deprioritized typical youth activities, and devoted as much time as possible to politics.
“I spent time after school volunteering for my state party, building the Democratic Party website and doing whatever I could,” he said. “My friends played sports, were in band, and played video games for hours after school. And I was like, ‘I’m volunteering to elect Democrats.’ ”
After high school, Austin worked on Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman’s 2022 campaign and founded ForwardBlue last year. The organization received a flood of donations around the time Vice President Kamala Harris became the party’s nominee to replace President Joe Biden. The group currently has about 500,000 donors and has contacted 3.5 million voters, Austin said.
The group has so far targeted 18- to 24-year-olds in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the presidential and Senate battleground states, as well as Maryland, Montana and Ohio, home to three of this year’s top Senate races. It is targeting $6 million to voters in the U.S.
Austin said what sets the group apart from other Democratic groups trying to reach young people is not just its message, but how it delivers it. They use “Everything But the TV” to explore non-traditional locations such as video game media and gay dating app Grindr, as well as public spaces on and around college campuses such as bus stops and dorm hallways. Delivering text messages and digital advertising in locations.
The topics are similar to those in consumer advertising, such as the cost of living, abortion, and in some areas, fentanyl addiction, but the tone is different. In addition to avoiding the “frustration” factor that often occurs when older people try to speak the language of young people, Austin says it’s also necessary to tailor messages to young people’s lived experiences.
For example, while abortion is a major motivator for young people, “abortion dark content” – advertising that emphasizes, sometimes in graphic ways, the personal harm caused by abortion bans – may discourage young people who are new to abortion. He said it could lead to alienation. It’s unlikely that you’ll find offensive content in your feed and have personal experience with pregnancy or family planning.
But their biggest challenge is not being able to afford housing.
“The rent is too high,” Austin said of the political moment that made headlines when he was in first grade. “Young people are interested in moving out of their parents’ homes, but they may feel unattainable right now.”
But since Austin can’t even legally drink yet, he’s kept his war room at his mother’s house, at least for now.
