Political analysts are trying to determine what really went wrong for the Democrats when Kamala Harris lost the race in 2024. In fact, analysts are almost going crazy to crack the code. The conversation around this has majorly focused on economic issues, voter turnout, etc. However, a recent analysis has revealed that a significant factor that contributed to her loss was social media, especially TikTok.
Kamala Harris suffered a major loss among young and politically disengaged voters. This is a group that had historically supported Democratic, as per a new research by Blue Rose Research that was headed by Democratic data scientist David Shor. A study found out that TikTok, a social media platform that is pretty influential amongst Gen Z. What is surprising is that the platform is now playing a role in changing political sentiments and creating a political
Harris badly lost voters who weren’t paying attention to political news, and as @davidshor elaborates, social media platforms (especially TikTok) have upended the way Americans political news: pic.twitter.com/bWj7BOQXvE
— Danielle Deiseroth (@danielledeis) March 18, 2025
Harris lost to Donald Trump because of conversion, that is voters switching sides, rather than just turnout. Many moderates and conservatives (who were not white) who were previously supporting Democrats switched to the Republican side. Young voters have always been inclined toward the left, but recently, they have shown a great affinity for conservative programs. Hence, the candidates in the election were also affected by the stark change.
TikTok is quite a popular app among the youth, contributing largely to spreading right-wing propaganda. The algorithm of TikTok is known to support counter-mainstream and populist narratives, in comparison to Facebook and Twitter. This is also because the content is determined by established networks and interaction.
What made it more difficult for Kamala Harris’ campaign to control the narrative is because of the virality of conservative videos on TikTok. Even though the Democratic Party has been historically using social media to influence young voters but unfortunately this time they failed.
The research also found out that the growing ideological polarization of non-white voters had a significant influence. No matter what their political beliefs are, minority voters have always been inclined towards the Democratic. Non-white moderates and conservatives, on the other hand, replicated the voting pattern of their white counterparts in 2024. This suggested a larger realignment in the electorate.
Since there was a massive shift and growing dissatisfaction with economic difficulties resulted in the loss of important votes for Harris. Even though the Joe Biden administration placed a strong attention on economic recovery and job creation, many work-class voters felt that the Democrats did not do enough to meet their needs. Especially those who were worried about the cost of living and inflation.
Kamala Harris LOST the Independent voters with 60% planning to vote for Trump after ABC presidential debate debacle!!
Most Americans recognized ABC debate sham for the “Trump ambush” that it was as even lib polls showed Trump WON!! pic.twitter.com/GRGKH7KS2K
— 💥Hank💥 (@HankishTwitZone) September 11, 2024
The entire research eradicates the widely held belief that the poor Democratic voter turnout was the main reason for Kamala Harris’ defeat. In fact, this proved that a large number of voters intentionally changed parties. They were highly attracted to the Republican Party’s rhetoric on topics like inflation, crime and social values. The research is also a learning lesson for Democrats where they urgently need to focus on how they approach internet participation.
Even though TikTok was once considered as a platform for progressive action, its involvement in the 2024 election clearly shows that conservative propaganda has taken a center stage. It’s time for the Democrats to change their digital approach, and address economic concerns that really matter to young voters. Change in their campaign can help them win the support of young and disengaged voters.
However, one thing is for sure, that political parties need to focus highly on social media as it is playing a stronger role in changing political sentiment. The future of the Democrats will probably depend on their ability to adjust to their new reality.
