In North Carolina, Democrats counting on young voters

LAURINBURG, US — For several months, Yampiere Lugo has been going door to door, urging young people in North Carolina to vote in November.

With Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race and Kamala Harris's arrival atop the Democratic ticket, the party activist says his generation, a key voting bloc, is fired up.

"I've talked to a lot of people around my age who have sort of all expressed the same sentiment,  that they're just so much more excited to have someone who's just younger, more energetic," Lugo told AFP.

The 25 year old, who works as an administrative assistant at a local school, says even people he thought might skip the election altogether have said the vice president has their support.

The enthusiasm marks a sharp contrast with the situation Lugo was facing just over a month ago, when he was canvassing for Biden in Laurinburg, the seat of Scotland County, not far from the border with South Carolina.

At the time, the activist admitted to AFP that young voters were "frustrated" with their options, facing a choice between the 81year old Biden and Donald Trump, the 78 year old Republican former president.

Now, Lugo believes Harris, 59, can win North Carolina, one of a handful of swing states likely to play a pivotal role in the race for the White House.

Winning here will be an uphill battle, the southern state has not voted for a Democrat in the presidential election since Barack Obama in 2008. 

"North Carolina is going to have something to say in November," said Zach Finley, the president of the Young Democrats of North Carolina.

But for Harris to turn the state Democratic blue, the party needs to campaign "the right way, turning out the folks we need to", added Finley, who is also 25.

Excited

On a national level, voters between the ages of 18 and 39 favoured Biden over Trump in 2020 by a margin of about 20 per centage points, according to the Pew Research Centre.

Finley says the party needs to "turn out young people who, especially in the last couple of years, have been really disincentivised" by the political process.

Democrats are getting out the vote the old-fashioned way in Scotland County, knocking on doors and talking to people.

The rural area is one of the most hotly contested political battlefields in the country, Hillary Clinton bested Trump here in 2016, but the Republican bounced back to defeat Biden in 2020, by just 287 votes.

In November, "It's all about turnout," says Garland Pierce, a Democratic state representative and a Baptist pastor.

"That's what everybody's really depending on, is the young voters to really go to the polls.

The lawmaker says Harris's somewhat surprise breakthrough into the race has galvanised voters in North Carolina.

"It appears that young people are really excited" about her candidacy, he said, adding that the economy will be a key issue in the contest.

Cost of things

Pierce's prediction about the economy is shared by a number of young voters AFP met in the streets of Laurinburg, which is home to 15,000 residents.

"Everything used to be cheaper," laments Donnie Leviner, an 18 year old student with his own home renovation business.

Before Biden won the White House, "gas prices used to be way lower", said Leviner, who added that he would vote for Trump in his first ever trip to a presidential voting booth. 

For Lucas Wylie, a 26-year-old engineer having a coffee at an outdoor cafe with his dog, young voters are "very focused on the cost of things and affordability".

Wylie cited expensive housing and high interest rates as evidence of soaring prices, and said both would be important to him in November.

Finley agreed.

"There's just a lot of pent-up anxiety being a young person in this country, not even being able to afford a home," he said. "It's almost out of reach, especially in North Carolina."

Finley said Democrats need to reassure young voters that they are attuned to their concerns, and ready to deliver solutions.

Harris will need to convince young people that they will ultimately be able to "achieve some form of the American dream”, and offer the same thing to the next generation, Finley said.