Here’s What First-Time Voters Think About Kamala Harris’s Presidential Candidacy & Her Odds Against Donald Trump

“Everything could change before November,” marveled Jack, 19 — a statement that succinctly sums up the new wave of confidence surging through the Democratic party right now. SheKnows asked a group of first-time Gen Z voters to weigh in on V.P. Kamala Harris becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for the presidency, and their thoughts were a mix of cautious optimism and the sense of skepticism about the future that Gen Z is known for.

In a previous interview, our panel of young adults unanimously agreed that if the election were held tomorrow, Trump would win. Amelia, 21, predicted that he would “feel emboldened by the fact that he survived an assassination attempt, and use it as a campaign point.” Jack also thought that Trump’s chances were bolstered by a combination of recent events: “I feel like Trump’s gonna win. Especially considering the assassination attempt, but also the debate and his V.P. pick … he’s just skyrocketing to victory. With each step, it’s like he’s propelling himself, just gaining momentum.”

But a lot has changed in the last few days. To say it’s been a political whirlwind is an understatement, as President Biden dropped out of the presidential race and V.P. Harris is poised to take his place. Within the first 24 hours of her campaign, Harris raised a record-breaking 81 million dollars, as the Democratic party gathers behind her in support.

Harris has also caught the attention of Gen Z — a wise move, considering the 41 million members of that demographic who’ll be eligible to vote by the election — with the viral TikTok trend “brat summer” being credited with kickstarting her presidential campaign. The phrase alludes to pop star Charli XCX’s June album “BRAT,” which USA Today described as “an embrace of a hot-mess pop star aesthetic, prioritizing club culture at its core but still offering introspective lyrics on aging, womanhood, grief and anxiety.” (The singer herself said in a TikTok interview, “It’s very honest, it’s very blunt, it’s a little bit volatile … It’s brat, you’re brat, that’s brat.”) On Monday, President Biden’s former campaign account on X changed its name to “KamalaHQ” and its banner to bright neon green, mimicking the cover of the BRAT album. The account is very clearly aimed at the younger voting demographic, posting a mix of serious news clips and more lighthearted interviews and memes, and using language more consistent with Gen Z (a retweet of one of Trump’s blustering tweets was captioned “Oh he’s mad mad”).

“After her rebranding in the last couple of days I feel like she has a good chance,” Jack tells us. “And she’s raised a ton of money. Her campaign’s barely started … so I’m interested to see how she actually campaigns.”

That being said, our Gen Z voters approached the campaign with a renewed sense of hope, but remained skeptical that things could change so substantially this late in the game — especially given the sexism that tends to run rampant.

“I feel a little better about the political climate right now … but I kinda still feel like this country isn’t really ready for a Black woman to be President,” confesses 18-year-old Ajani.

Amelia isn’t as worried about the willingness to elect a female President, but thinks if Harris’s V.P. pick were also a woman, they wouldn’t stand a chance. “This sounds terrible, but I don’t think Kamala’s running pick could be a woman,” she says. “It’s representative of our country right now that I don’t think two women on the ballot together could win.” Jack agrees, opining that for the best chance at a Democratic victory, Harris’s running mate should be “a safe white male candidate from a purple state.”

Our panel of new voters were still persuaded that Trump would win — at least at this point.

“Last week I was certain that if the election were tomorrow, Trump would win,” says Jack. “But right now, I have no idea.”

Amelia feels the same. “If the election were tomorrow I still think Trump would win. I’m not happy about it either!”

“I still think Trump would win the election,” Ajani proclaims. “I do hope I’m wrong though.”

Still, they expressed some optimism given the immediate success of Harris’s campaign, which seems to have breathed new life into the election race. “I feel excited about what these four months could bring,” says Jack. But perhaps it was Ajani who summed it up best: “She’s a very poised and fierce woman. … She knows how to take down a man like Trump.”