Gen-Z for Change, a nonprofit organization focused on mobilizing young voters, has announced it will launch an effort to help elect Vice President Kamala Harris.
I was not looking forward to voting for Joe Biden.
In 2020, I struggled to support Trump when the Democratic primaries were dominated by younger and more progressive candidates. This year, I struggled with his handling of the Israel-Hamas war. In recent weeks, I’ve been plagued by concerns about his age and mental capacity.
I was prepared to accept Biden as the nominee, but hold my nose and vote for him to prevent Donald Trump from ever reaching the White House again. On Sunday, Biden resolved my moral dilemma by dropping out of the race.
“It is in the best interest of our party and our country that I step aside and focus on fulfilling the duties of my presidency for the remainder of my term,” Biden said in the letter.
He’s right: this is the best decision for the country. In doing so, Biden is solidifying his record as a respectable president. In doing so, he’s also doing something Trump never could: putting his ego aside for the good of the country. It could also wake up some Gen Z progressives who were never big Biden fans but want Trump gone.
Biden is stepping down, but we should celebrate his administration’s victory.
Biden can celebrate his victory as president: He has led the country through the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic, improved the economy, signed major bills on climate change and gun control, declassified marijuana and forgiven student loan payments for millions of people.
He did everything he could during his term as president, and I believe we are in a better situation under his administration than we would have been if Trump had won the 2020 presidential election. I was nervous at first, but I think Biden’s victory was a good thing.
Biden steps back: Democrats can finally focus on defeating Trump.
The decision was always his alone, whether it was the poor poll results, Democrats calling for him to step aside or reports that led to Biden’s withdrawal. Dropping out of the presidential race was a difficult decision and one that must have required a certain amount of humility.
I commend Biden for that.
Gen Z will be reinvigorated and ready to support Democrats
For months, I’d heard from other young people that there were no good options in this year’s election: Trump was a failure, Biden was clearly out of step with what young progressives, especially, wanted on issues like Israel, and there was a sense of apathy among those of us who’d helped the Democratic Party win since Trump’s election in 2016.
Polls back up what I’d heard: A May NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found Biden had just 24% support among voters ages 18 to 29.
Republicans can win with Kamala. Biden will lose, but with Trump, Republicans don’t need to change their message. Harris won’t change much either.
This is a great thing for Gen Z voters who felt powerless in the face of the decision of two old men. Now it’s up to young progressives to deliver a victory for the Democrats in November and prove to the country that this was the right decision.
Gen-Z for Change, a nonprofit focused on mobilizing young voters, announced it was launching an effort to help elect Vice President Kamala Harris, and we can expect to see similar efforts from other youth groups in the coming days.
It will be interesting to see if Harris, if she becomes the nominee, inspires Gen Z, those born between 1997 and 2012. I hope she does.
This is the best decision for the Democratic Party, and I’m glad Biden finally made it.
It’s time for progressive Gen Z voters to help Democrats defeat Trump on Election Day. We wanted this to happen. Now we must prove that it was necessary and that this is the right path to defeating Trump.
Follow USA TODAY elections columnist Sara Pequeno on X. Previously on Twitter: @sara__pequeno
