On Wednesday, the progressive environmental group Sunrise Movement announced its intention to bolster Vice President Harris’s presidential campaign through extensive voter outreach but stopped short of endorsing her candidacy.
Sunrise Communications Director Stevie O’Hanlon revealed that the initiative aims to engage 1.5 million young voters, emphasizing the environmental implications of the 2024 election. The outreach will utilize a blend of in-person interactions, phone calls, and digital communications to energize this demographic.
The group noted a surge in youth interest following Harris’s official ascension to the Democratic nomination and highlighted polling data from Hart Research for Climate Power, which shows trust gap on environmental issues between Harris and former President Trump.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley
O’Hanlon emphasized the Harris-Walz ticket‘s potential to attract more young voters, asserting that Sunrise will exert considerable effort to mobilize this segment against Trump. The group also intends to pressure the Harris campaign to articulate a compelling and bold environmental vision to galvanize young voters further.
In the 2020 election, Sunrise refrained from endorsing a presidential candidate but supported several progressive Democratic primary winners, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, Summer Lee, and Greg Casar. However, Bush and Bowman faced defeats in their recent primaries.
Although Biden’s 2020 campaign successfully engaged younger voters concerned about climate issues, recent polling suggested a decline in support, partly due to actions such as opening the Arctic for oil drilling and a general decrease in campaign enthusiasm. This shift underscores the critical importance of addressing environmental concerns to maintain voter support.
