Bernie Sanders may be the oldest candidate running for president, but his team is well aware that it's young people who are the most enthusiastic about the 74-year-old's campaign. Which is why, today, the Sanders camp is launching a new website aimed at getting high schoolers in Iowa to show up on February 1 to caucus for Bernie.
The new site, called Prove Them Wrong, urges young Iowans to sign a pledge to caucus for Sanders. They can also sign up to earn points for volunteering, sharing on Facebook and Twitter, and starting groups at school—earn enough points and get a t-shirt. Anyone who will be 18 by the general election in November is eligible to Caucus in February.
It's a simple enough strategy, old-school really, but its focus on the youth vote is smart. The site's name, Prove Them Wrong, is a nod to the fact that young voters have a reputation for being disconnected from and uninterested in the political process. That reputation is well-earned in Iowa, where in 2012, just 4 percent of Iowans under the age of 30 showed up to caucus, according to The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement.
"All these talking heads say things like, 'Oh, they're not going to turn out. They don't care,'" says Rania Batrice, Sanders' Iowa communications director.
And yet, history shows what can happen when young voters do turn out. Back in 2008, some 30,000 people under 30 turned out to caucus for an underdog candidate named Barack Obama, helping him secure a win in Iowa against the then-presumptive frontrunner, Hillary Clinton.
Eight years later, the Sanders campaign is hoping to mobilize the same generation against the same opponent, and early signs show that strategy may be working. Sanders amassed a massive national following of young, digital-savvy supporters on platforms like Reddit—and now, in Iowa, he's steadily advancing. A new Quinnipiac University poll of likely Caucus-goers released today shows Sanders ahead of Clinton in Iowa for the first time.
This surge reflects the Sanders campaign's apparent success in stirring up enthusiasm among Iowans who may not be steadfast caucus-goers. By shaking up the population of potential participants in this year's caucus—which includes driving the youth vote—the Sanders campaign is also shaking up the odds.
