Democrats’ butter-cow selfies don’t count unless they’re online

Posing next to the Iowa State Fair’s famous butter cow while holding a pork chop on a stick has long been a way for presidential hopefuls to gain credibility with the state’s voters.

But this year’s Democratic contenders also are shadowed by staff members who will leverage those images to win support from younger voters nationwide.

The fun times will be uploaded quickly to their own social media accounts and available to reach the critical younger demographic where they are: on their mobile phones. It’s a tactic that’s become a matter of course in the crowded race for the Democratic nomination, even at heavily covered events such as the annual fair, as candidates attempt to win the White House by winning the internet first.

The Democrats are defying conventional campaigning and allocating more resources than ever to producing original, behind-the-scenes content. Campaigns have built in-house digital teams to meet the expectations for real-time online interactions with a voting bloc of social media users that’s going to play an important role in choosing next year’s Democratic nominee.

“Digital strategists are the new field organizers,” said Danielle Butterfield, paid media director of Priorities USA, a Democratic super political action committee. “The campaigns that are going to use that opportunity in an offline setting to extend it into an online setting are going to be the ones that have success.”

With the visibility gained during his 2016 run, Sen. Bernie Sanders is winning the online race with almost 18 million followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter combined. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has almost 8 million followers, and Sen. Kamala Harris and former Vice President Joe Biden have about 6 million each.

Sanders, at age 78 the oldest candidate, travels with two videographers who feed content to his digital team back in Washington. Harris is on the trail with a videographer and content creator, while Warren, with a team of eight people, has given voters unprecedented access online to her life inside and outside of the campaign.

Warren’s signature selfie lines are becoming legendary; she spends hours giving people the chance to snap a photo with her. “Who wants anything signed?” Warren’s staff members will ask as they follow a line that more often than not wraps around the room.

For some voters, that makes all the difference. “If she’s willing to stick around and do this for all the people here, that’s the candidate you want,” said Chris Anderson, a 44-year-old web designer from Omaha who attended Warren’s town hall in nearby Council Bluffs, Iowa, and waited in line for about 90 minutes.

Warren, 70, goes one step further by sharing many personal, everyday moments on her social media accounts: birthday dinners with her husband, Bruce; giving her golden retriever, Bailey, a bath; and videos of her surprise calls to supporters. These digital experiences provide an authentic look behind the lives of what would otherwise be inaccessible candidates.

“It just makes her feel like a real person,” said Maggie Bashore, 18. “I don’t just see her on TV or on the news; I get to see her in her kitchen.”

Bashore is one of the millions of potential first-time voters in 2020 who are relying less on traditional media and more on social media channels. Millennial voters and their successors from Generation Z are expected to play a large role in 2020.

In an Aug. 8 poll conducted by College Pulse, 59% of college students say the 2020 election will be the most important of their lifetime.

Youth voter turnout has almost doubled in the past five years, to 42% in 2018 from 22% in 2014, a midterm election, according to data from the Pew Research Center. Many Democratic candidates are speaking with urgency about issues crucial for that voting bloc, including student debt, climate change and gun control, said Tom Bonier, chief executive officer of Targetsmart, a Democratic data and strategy firm.

“More than any other generation, younger voters are recognizing that the world is on fire at this point, and they are moving to action,” Bonier said. “A huge part of this is a reaction to the Trump presidency and a call to action to do something about it.”