Kayla Armbruster was surprised when President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, but threw her support behind Harris after she named Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

“I truly do think that his ideas align with me and my personal ethics as a human being, far more than I’ve seen pretty much any other major politician that has been on a presidential ticket,” Armbruster, a senior political communications major, said.

Armbruster praised the Democratic party’s latest efforts to reach out to Gen Z voters, a voting bloc whose support was critical in ensuring the Biden-Harris victory in 2020.“They’re truly appealing to Gen Z voters … and are going out of their way to grassroots organize,” Armbruster said. 

Harris’s campaign has gained immense traction among young voters who were hesitant to re-elect Biden due to concerns surrounding his age and his support for Israel. Her campaign raised more than $81 million in its first 24 hours. 

At Emerson, students are largely energized by the Harris-Walz ticket and their ability to unite progressives and moderates around a common cause: defeating former President Donald Trump in November. 

Hazel Fitzpatrick, a sophomore communication studies major from Washington, D.C., felt concerned about the country’s future when the race was between Biden and Trump. She said that insults and negativity were more prevalent than their respective plans for second terms.  

“When [Harris] was announced as the Democratic candidate, I began picturing outcomes where I would be proud to raise a daughter in America,” Fitzpatrick said. “When she picked Walz as her running mate, for the first time in eight years I had so much hope for the future.”

Fitzpatrick added that Harris’s policy positions make her feel secure and that she understands enough policies to make an informed decision.   

“Her immigration plan [stems] from the source of the problem and focuses on building strong relationships rather than dividing our world more with physical barriers,” Fitzpatrick said. “Harris’s advocacy for women’s reproductive rights makes me hopeful that we won’t continue to backpedal.”

Similarly, Alyssa Depasqua described Walz as a “fantastic” pick for Harris, citing his service in the Army National Guard and work as a high school teacher. 

“[Walz] is a great representation of the Midwestern white, working class, everyday U.S. citizen,” said Depasqua, a junior political communication major and Cape Cod resident. 

Walz’s relatability factor is incredibly important in today’s political climate, which is increasingly reliant on identity politics, Depasqua said.

“If voters can’t relate to Harris, they can definitely relate to Walz,” Depasqua said.

Walz’s policies and background appeal to many types of voters, said Phoebe Alves, a sophomore political communication major from Texas.

“He represents how progressive milestones like free school lunch for all children can be achieved in a slow, reasonable manner … without alienating moderate voters,” Alves said.

Harris and Walz represent “different sides of the coin that is the American Dream,” and therefore, a larger portion of the American population and identity than in previous elections, Alves said. 

Alves was not excited to vote for Biden, as she thought he was not “articulate enough” to lead the country for a second term. Harris-Walz ticket, however, makes Alves “proud” to call herself a Democrat.

Some young voters like senior political communication major Caroline Larangeira were surprised by Harris choosing Walz as her running mate, as she thought Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro would get the nod. But the New Jersey resident feels more hopeful after seeing Harris and Walz grab the attention of Gen Z voters and speaking to issues that Trump is continually avoiding, she said. 

“It’s refreshing to have politicians running for the highest offices who genuinely care about the people they serve,” Larangeira said.

Many members of Gen Z are considering voting for a third-party candidate due to the Biden administration’s response to the conflict in Gaza. But voting third party in the upcoming election will not bring the country forward in moving away from the two-party system, said Katherine Asselin, a senior communication studies major from Massachusetts.

Asselin said she is a proponent of ranked-choice voting and believes that enacting electoral reforms like ranked-choice voting will help the country move away from the two-party system. She’s hopeful about the Harris-Walz ticket due to Walz’s support of ranked-choice voting as governor of Minnesota, she added. 

“Having somebody in [a] high position of power, such as the vice president, is a really good sign in terms of making ranked choice voting feel more mainstream, feel more accessible to people, and will make implementing ranked-choice voting a little bit easier across the country,” Asselin said. 

Asselin pointed out that the November election will inevitably be between Harris and Trump, and that voters whose top issue is the conflict in Gaza will have to decide between the two major party candidates. 

“In November, somebody is going to be elected, and it’s either going to be Donald Trump, who has said he will aggravate the war and poke the fire,” Asselin continued, “or Harris-Walz, who haven’t been as outspoken as I would have liked them to be, but they have been more pro-ceasefire and more pro-Palestine than most major politicians.” 

Biden’s policies on the war in Gaza were one of his greatest “missteps,” leading to Gen Z voters turning on him, said Angus Abercrombie, a junior political communication major from Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, more than 51,000 Democratic voters went “uncommitted” in the state’s primary, largely in protest to the administration’s response to the war in Gaza. 

“What we’ve seen over the last 10 months in that military operation is tragic, but it is also a tragedy that the United States is directly involved in,” Abercrombie said.

More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including nearly 16,500 children, since the conflict intensified on Oct. 7, 2023. In Israel, more than 1,100 people have been killed and more than 8,700 injured. 

The United States has sent monetary aid and munitions to Israel on multiple occasions since Oct. 7. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress on July 24, an address that Harris did not preside over in her capacity as President of the Senate. She has increased pressure for a ceasefire deal and the release of hostages, especially at campaign events since entering the presidential race. 

It “sends a powerful message” that Harris is now speaking out in support of a ceasefire, Abercrombie said.