The Biden campaign is ramping up efforts to secure the crucial youth vote in swing states like Wisconsin. In a recent series of listening sessions at university campuses across the state, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., met with student organizers to discuss the issues that matter most to them and encourage their support for President Biden’s reelection bid.
The sessions, coordinated by the Biden campaign in collaboration with the state Democratic party, highlighted the campaign’s focus on engaging young voters, a demographic that played a significant role in Biden’s narrow victory in Wisconsin in 2020. However, the president continues to face low approval ratings among voters under 45, particularly Gen Z and younger millennials, despite their strong support for him in the previous election.
During the listening sessions and in conversations with NPR, students expressed concerns about a range of issues, including protecting abortion access, ensuring a stable financial future, and addressing climate change. They also voiced apprehension about rallying their classmates to back Biden, with many expressing dissatisfaction with their current options.
One issue that has emerged as a point of contention among young voters is Biden’s response to the Israel-Hamas war. While the president has pushed for a temporary cease-fire, many young voters are calling for a permanent end to the conflict and are critical of Biden’s support for Israel. This issue has led some students to question their support for the president, even as they acknowledge the importance of other issues like reproductive rights and LGBTQ equality.
Rep. Khanna, a progressive Democrat who has endorsed Biden’s reelection bid while also pushing for a more critical stance on Israel, recognizes the challenge of engaging young voters on this issue. He emphasizes the need for the campaign to listen to young people’s concerns and have difficult conversations about the conflict, rather than shying away from the topic.
In a recent episode of the Larry Wilmore Podcast, U.S. Representative Ro Khanna from California’s 17th congressional district joined the host for an insightful conversation covering a wide range of topics. The discussion began with an examination of the current protest movements on college campuses and the factors contributing to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Khanna and Wilmore then delved into the misconceptions surrounding TikTok in Congress before exploring the concept of progressive capitalism. Khanna, who identifies as a progressive capitalist, believes in the importance of entrepreneurship and wealth generation while emphasizing the need for equal opportunities across the country. He argued that government plays a crucial role in convening and investing to promote economic growth and job creation in underserved communities.
The conversation also touched on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in modern industry. As the representative of a district that includes Silicon Valley tech giants such as Apple, Google, and NVIDIA, Khanna offered valuable insights into the impact of AI on the workforce and the economy.
In the second half of the episode, Wilmore and Khanna attempted to make sense of Donald Trump’s popularity and discussed the complexities of the immigration issue in the United States. They also examined the most important qualities in leadership, with Khanna stressing the significance of government investment and collaboration between entrepreneurs, businesses, and labor to drive the country’s success.
Throughout the podcast, Khanna highlighted the concerns of young voters, such as the burden of debt, high rent prices, and the lack of affordable education and healthcare. He advocated for policies like rent control, free public college, and universal healthcare to address these issues and provide hope for economic opportunity and upward mobility.
RO KHANNA: So there’s a lot of cynicism, I think. I don’t know if you hear it among young voters. And I think it’s that their voice doesn’t matter. I think there’s a frustration about economic mobility, wealth generation, economic aspiration.
LARRY WILMORE: Absolutely.
RO KHANNA: And we got to listen and engage them.
LARRY WILMORE: I agree with you. I love going out into the country and talking to people because I usually have the opposite experience. I meet so many bright people who are really engaged and have really good ideas. And sometimes you see the worst representatives of any group when it’s just on television, little sound bites and everything. But I feel encouraged by the young generation, actually. I think there’s a lot of good, bright energy, whether I agree or disagree, by the way.
RO KHANNA: I’m very encouraged by people. And I think social media is a net plus in that. I’m not a down arrow when it comes to those things because it all depends how we use it. I’d say to folks, okay, if it weren’t for social media, we may not have had Donald Trump, but we also wouldn’t have had Barack Obama. And we wouldn’t have had Bernie Sanders. And ultimately, in my view, democratizing voice and giving more people a shot to have their say is better if we’ve got to figure out the guardrails, we’ve got to figure out how it’s constructive. But now some young person could do something creative and they’re going to get far more views than some boring, you know, talking point speech that I give on the house floor, you know, with DNC talking points. And that’s good, you know, it’s good that, you know, more people are getting a say in this country.
LARRY WILMORE: I think if you add twerking and do something a little more entertaining while you’re doing it, you never know. You never know, Congressman. You call yourself a progressive capitalist. What does that mean?
RO KHANNA: Pretty simple. I think I believe in entrepreneurship. I believe in wealth generation and innovation. But I think every part of this country should have that opportunity. I got $10 trillion of value in my district, Apple, Google, Tesla, NVIDIA. There are lots of parts of this country that either lost industry or never had industry and don’t have those jobs. I think everyone should have health care and education and the basics to be able to have a shot at participating. That’s what I call being a progressive capitalist.”
SOURCE:
Moore, Elena, and Jeongyoon Han. “Six Months out from the Election, Wisconsin Students Weigh Voting for Biden.” WUWM, 30 Apr. 2024, www.wuwm.com/2024-04-30/six-months-out-from-the-election-wisconsin-students-weigh-voting-for-biden.
