'Kamalove' The gen Z voters who could swing the election

Kamala Harris pledged to earn young people's votes, as the vice-president and newly elevated presumptive Democratic nominee rides a gen Z-powered wave of online "Kamalove".

- Lauren Gambino

In a virtual address at a two-day summit in Atlanta, hosted by the liberal gen Z-led organisation Voters of Tomorrow, Harris said she had been elected the first female vicepresident of the US "because young voters showed up" in 2020. She touted "historic progress" made by the BidenHarris administration on combating gun violence and climate change, all of which she said was again "at stake this November".

"We know young voters will be key, and we know your vote cannot be taken for granted," she said in a pretaped video. "It must be earned, and that is exactly what we will do."

In the days since Joe Biden ended his presidential re-election campaign and endorsed Harris for November's race against Republican nominee Donald Trump, young supporters have flooded social media with coconut tree video cuts and "brat summer" memes - a reflection how her candidacy has jolted a presidential race many Democrats had feared was slipping away.