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As Democrats and Republicans look for new ways to reach voters, many are struggling with how to turn valuable online views into even more valuable votes.
That's what Democrat Tom Steyer tried to do in his bid for governor in California. He spent tens of thousands of dollars on paid partnerships with political influencers, some of whom have millions of followers across social media. However, the progressive billionaire failed to advance to the general election.
Spencer Pratt, a Republican, also grew his already large online presence while running for mayor of Los Angeles. Despite repeatedly going viral in creator-made videos and appearing on Joe Rogan's podcast, which averages nearly 12 million listeners a month, he too came up short at the ballot box.
It's becoming a more common goal for campaigns to seek out viral moments and the support of popular internet stars as part of an effort to reach more voters online. It's a strategy Democrats and Republicans alike watched Donald Trump ride to victory in 2024. But the strategy, albeit flashy, has yielded mixed results in key races this cycle as candidates try to figure out how much political power an influencer can have.
Political strategists partially credit Trump's focus on reaching voters through nontraditional media as a reason he made inroads with young Americans, sitting down for interviews with a slew of prominent streamers and podcasters, including Rogan.
However, with Trump not on the ballot this fall, campaigns are looking for ways to continue harnessing that same energy in the midterms, even as some strategists, like Republican Eric Wilson, point out limits.
"Social media, content creators, digital media — that whole umbrella — is a blunt force object," Wilson said, arguing that while that structure may benefit national campaigns and organizations, it can be harder for targeted audiences in state and local races.
"Even if someone has millions of followers across the country, when you slice that down to, OK, who's actually in this state and who's actually a primary voter, you start to see sometimes the juice isn't worth the squeeze," he added. "Now, all things being equal, I'd rather have that person on my side than not."
A big audience. Worth the risk?
To Wilson, campaigning with internet stars has a lot of benefits — it can bring in cash and energize get-out-the-vote efforts.
"I think it's smart for candidates to be reaching out to these creators and influencers, because that's our job on campaigns, is to follow those eyeballs," he explained.
But there is also a caveat.
"The cost benefit analysis is, does the baggage that come with that person outweigh the potential benefits?"
It's a debate currently taking place within the Democratic Party over whether candidates should associate with the streamer Hasan Piker.
Known for his staunch support of leftist policies, Piker has developed a massive online audience, with nearly 10 million followers across major social media platforms.
He's become one of the most prominent voices on the internet, while also being a divisive messenger, garnering pushback for fierce anti-war and anti-Israel comments, including saying in a recent interview that he "would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time."
However, as Democrats look to reengage with younger voters that have distanced themselves from the party in recent years, some candidates see Piker as an important messenger.
"There have to be on-ramps back to politics," said Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for U.S. Senate in Michigan. "We cannot be shunning certain media platforms because in effect, we're shunning the people who pay attention to them."
In early April, Piker appeared with El-Sayed on the campaign trail, the first of several campaign stops and endorsements he has made for progressive and left-leaning candidates this cycle — a move that sparked outrage on both sides of the political aisle over Piker's past controversial comments.
El-Sayed stands by the decision to campaign with Piker, arguing if Democrats want to repair ties with voters they lost in recent years — particularly those under 30 who shifted right in 2024 — then they can't shy away from engaging with those voters where they are, even if it sparks backlash.
"It is a pretty crazy thing that we want to hold people accountable for things that other people have said. And I just don't think normal people think that way," El-Sayed said.
"It's not something I hear about when I'm on the stump," he added. "In fact, when I go to different events, there are two things that happen: I get older folks who come up to me and say, 'how did you get all these young people to come here? And then I get young people who come up to me, [and say] 'hey man I saw you on [Hasan Piker], it's pretty cool what you're doing.'"
Internet buzz to votes?
Michigan's primary is set for August 4th. El-Sayed's campaign says Piker's involvement caused an initial spike in engagement, noting a boost in volunteer sign ups and an influx of fundraising dollars in the first few days after the events were announced.
Since then, Piker has continued to voice support for other Democrats, including several that have since gone on to win their primary contests, including Adam Hamawy in New Jersey's 12th district and Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania's 3rd district.
But his record is mixed, particularly in California, where Piker lives. Piker did not endorse Steyer, but hosted him for a lengthy interview on his livestream. Steyer came in a distant third. As did Saikat Chakrabarti, Piker's preferred candidate in the race to fill the San Francisco area congressional seat being vacated by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"To my audience, the message is simple. I'm telling them, I trust this person. I like this person, and I think this person is worth supporting," Piker said in an interview last month. "This is a person that you don't have to just reluctantly vote for."
He describes his audience as overwhelmingly Democratic, and roughly 60% white men between the ages of 18 and 35. It's a demographic that he says is "right in the pocket of that demographic that the Democratic Party has lost significant support in."
Where to focus attention
But reenergizing young people who have drifted from the party and bringing in new voters may be two different battles.
It's a tension Democrats are acutely aware of — especially as Republicans look to further grow a network of MAGA influencers. In 2024, Trump repeatedly appeared alongside figures like Charlie Kirk, the late-founder of the young voter group Turning Point USA, which has built a cohort of popular political influencers that continue to post in support of Trump's agenda and GOP candidates.
There have been Democratic efforts to build left-leaning influencer networks and reenergize base voters, but some inside the party are also pushing to see investment in communities where politics is not the explicit focus.
"My observation is that most of the money is going to the creators who are all speaking in the same echo chamber of folks whose support we already had, and it's not going to change hearts and minds," said Cheyenne Hunt, the former executive director of Gen-Z for Change, a progressive group that collaborates regularly with creators.
Others see a need to focus on work that happens on a smaller, more targeted scale. Those efforts have popped up in places around the country, such as Democrats engaging with influencers in Houston to help mobilize young Latino voters, and the South Carolina Democratic Party inviting creators to recent events in the state as part of a new creator program aimed at boosting local engagement and spreading party messaging.
Plus, a digital-focused political operation only goes so far if Democrats don't have an impactful message, argues content creator Sriha Srinivasan.
Srinivasan, who has more than 180,000 followers talking about sexual education on TikTok, points to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's successful campaign, which had a strong digital presence. But, she says, that's not what got him elected.
"Mamdani won only in part because of [his] social media. He won primarily, in my opinion, because he addressed the cost of living crisis. That's what drew people in," she said.
"I think that sometimes Democrats can skirt around the point, which is that, yes, the social media is good and we need that," she said. "But that means nothing if you are not actually addressing the issues that are affecting real Americans today."
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