‘It’s a hard sell’: Gen-Z activists warn Biden over frustration among young voters

Young voters played a critical role in delivering Joe Biden to the White House in 2020. But as his reelection campaign kicks off, leading activists are uneasy about vouching for the president and concerned the administration could squander years of momentum

In 2020, Biden’s campaign aggressively courted younger, progressive voters as part of a strategy to fire up the grassroots and bridge the divisions that roiled the party in the run-up to Donald Trump’s election in 2016.

More than three years later, though, the relationship between the White House and young organizers is at a crossroads. The president and congressional Democrats have delivered on many notable promises but fallen short on others – a frustrating reality that has contributed to Biden’s plunging approval ratings with 18- to 29-year-olds.

The administration’s recent decision to approve a controversial Alaskan drilling project outraged young climate activists whose work on the last campaign was vital in establishing trust – and even excitement – about a Biden presidency. The White House pushed back, arguing that its legal options were constrained because the project had already been greenlit by the Trump administration. But the controversy has contributed to a resurfacing of old suspicions across aligned youth voter groups. Their leaders expressed concerns that Biden and senior aides appear increasingly determined to own the political center, even at the cost of alienating this increasingly powerful voting bloc. Young voters have turned out in record numbers in recent elections and proven their mettle as organizers by establishing a vast web of interconnected groups, with focuses on climate, immigration, gun violence, student debt, health care, LGBTQ rights and more.

“It’s a hard sell to us ourselves. If your own activists, the people who are supposed to be convincing other people, are…