15 groups representing young voters back Biden

Fifteen youth voter groups on Monday announced their endorsements for President Biden’s reelection campaign, part of a larger effort to launch Students for Biden-Harris (SFB), a national organizing program designed to mobilize young voters.

The 15 endorsements for Biden and Vice President Harris come from groups that focus on young voters specifically and groups that focus on issues that matter to younger people.

The organizations are Blue Future, College Democrats of America, Democratic Youth Coalition, Dream For America, Grassroots Dem HQ, High School Democrats of America, Jr. Newtown Action Alliance, NextGen PAC, Path to Progress, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Students Demand Action, Team ENOUGH, Voices of Gen-Z, Voters of Tomorrow, and the Young Democrats of America.

“Never before have this many young voter groups come together to back a presidential ticket this early before the election,” a press release announcing the joint endorsement read.

“Young voters delivered for the Biden-Harris campaign in 2020. They returned to the polls in 2022 and 2023 to vote for key ballot initiatives and candidates who stand for their values,” the press release read. “These youth groups will ensure this key voting bloc shows up again in 2024 with the same force to send President Biden and Vice President Harris back to the White House.”

The Biden campaign said Monday’s announcement “will kick off a recruitment blitz,” establishing SFB chapters and recruiting organizers on campuses.

The 15 groups, along with SFB, will hire hundreds of young organizers, mobilize more than 1,000 campus, local and state chapters, and hire more than 500,000 volunteers, the announcement of the joint endorsement read.

SFB will host regular trainings on relational and digital organizing tools and will host regular national virtual and in-person events, the first of which will take place this Thursday with National Advisory Board Member Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), the first member of Gen Z in Congress.

“Young voters were crucial in delivering the election for President Biden and Vice President Harris in 2020 — and they will be just as consequential in 2024,” Frost said in the press release.

The announcement comes as some Democrats express concern about waning optimism among young voters about Biden’s reelection campaign. Biden has especially come under fire from young organizers who oppose his support for Israel in the war in Gaza.

The Biden campaign hopes the new initiatives will infuse new enthusiasm into the campaign and assuage voters’ concerns about his age.