DNC news: Hundreds of content creators invited to Chicago convention in push for young voters

Tuesday, August 20, 2024
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The youth vote will be crucial, if Kamala Harris hopes to come out victorious this fall. So, the Democratic Party is pulling out all the stops to court that demographic, including influencers.

Content creators are being put front and center at the Democratic National Convention.

Reaching young voters is part of the reason the DNC not only rolled out the blue carpet for invited content creators, but put some on the floor, right in the middle of the action.

"Blown away, blown away: It is everything it looks like on TV and more," Chicago content creator Jenny LeFlore said.

LeFlore, or MamaFreshChi on Instagram, is a local content creator whose ability to inspire moms around the city caught the attention of the Democratic National Convention.



"That's very much where we are as a country. We want to be invited to the party," LeFlore said.

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She's one of 200 content creators, who were invited to the DNC for the first time in its history. It comes as Vice President Harris is pushing for more young voters.

"If they have a trusted person, they're empowering us with the information, the resource, the graphics, very specific so we can inform our audience," LeFlore said. "They wanted someone just like me. It was right who they chose."

According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Engagement and Learning, 70% of young people had gotten information about the 2020 election on social media.



A DNC spokesperson said, "Our convention will make history, so we're giving creators a front row seat to history."

It's a front row seat lucky few get right on the main floor.

"Content creators have been doing the work for a long time, whether it's covering protests, social issues, and now we're able to cover more establishment aspects of what it means to be part of the political process," content creator Blair Imani Ali said.

Imani Ali said she encourages her followers or "smarties" to make sure their voice is being heard.

"If they're not gonna make a seat at the table, I'm gonna bring a folding chair," Imani Ali said.



The creators are encouraging others to do the same and vote.
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