Bernie Sanders joins Snapchat: Will the app shape the election?
There are an estimated 50 million Snapchat users, and presidential candidates have been quick to take advantage of reaching the young audience. But will 2016 really be the Snapchat Election?
There are an estimated 50 million Snapchat users, and presidential candidates have been quick to take advantage of reaching the young audience. But will 2016 really be the Snapchat Election?
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders has joined Snapchat, but he has one important question:
Forbes estimates there are 50 million Snapchat users, the median age being 18, and presidential candidates have been quick to take advantage of reaching the young audience.
Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Gov.聽John Kasich and former candidate Wisconsin Gov.聽Scott Walker both released ads on the app, while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a comically awkward debut this summer. 聽聽聽
It鈥檚 an especially strategic move for Senator Sanders who, at 74 years old, would be the oldest candidate to win a presidential election, beating Ronald Reagan by about six years. 聽
Snapchat has been positioning itself as a major media player for this campaign season, even poaching a seasoned CNN political reporter to lead its strategy. Its 鈥渓ive story鈥� feature has enabled users to get a glimpse of rallies and debates. But will 2016 really be the Snapchat election? 聽
In August, Wired鈥檚 Issie Lapowsky reported on the app鈥檚 political foray with caution, noting that it鈥檚 not clear whether campaigns could effectively target and mobilize potential voters聽on the service like they can with Facebook or Twitter:
Regardless of Snapchat鈥檚 efficacy as a political tool, the importance of the youth vote聽cannot be overstated. According to an analysis by The Center For Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, crucial battleground states like Ohio, Virginia, Florida, and Pennsylvania would have turned red in 2012, and thus the presidency, had the youth vote swung right. Youth voter turnout has steadily been on the rise since the new millennium, but it dropped significantly in the last presidential election.
According to a new poll released Saturday, Mrs. Clinton still maintains a six-point lead over Sanders with primary voters age 18 to 45. Public Policy Polling found Clinton kept that lead on every subject, from national security to who won Saturday night鈥檚 debate. But Sanders does appear to be growing in favorability while Clinton is stagnating. That is a wider demographic than just young voters (often considered 18 to 24), but another recent poll by YouGov shows Clinton鈥檚 favorability among 18 to 29 year olds at four points higher than Sanders.
Nonetheless, The Guardian reports that Sanders has galvanized college students, and the candidate has the highest level of Facebook engagement on individual posts compared to all others running for president.聽