On September 16, 2024, Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service kicked off their Election 2024 programming by hosting a conversation with a focus on voters rather than candidates.
Students gathered in the HFSC Social Room to delve into who the voters are. The bipartisan panel featured Fall’17 GU Politics Fellow Mike Dubke former White House Communications Director under the Trump Administration and current GU Politics Fellow Symone Sanders Townsend, former Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Moderated by Spring’16 GU Politics Fellow Jackie Kucinich, Washington Bureau Chief for The Boston Globe, they explored the motivations of Trump and Harris voters and considered what undecided voters might be waiting for.
Both panelists emphasized how undecided voters are equally an enigma as and not a monolith. “Both campaigns are desperately struggling to figure out who they are,” said Dubke. “Some of them are economic undecideds, your foreign policy undecideds, social undecideds, immigration, and so on”.
Highlighting the critical nature of the upcoming weeks, Sanders Townsend stressed that the “next 49 days, every single day counts and is critical”. Echoing this urgency, Dubke added that whilst “both campaigns are going to try and turn out early votes and bank their base at the very beginning”, undecided voters are likely to “break late”.
Building on this, Dubke discussed the importance of targeting specific voter groups, emphasizing that focusing on “low propensity voters” could be enough to “move the needle”. He provided insightful analysis into the Trump campaign’s belief that “people vote out of fear or anger”, which can “motivate these voters to turn out”. These individuals differ from undecided voters; they are Trump supporters who “don’t have the muscle memory of voting”.
Sanders Townsend added that many voters are not yet “plugged in”. While they may be “primed”, they still need to be “given the tools to vote”. She addressed the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements, noting that “no one is going to vote because Beyonce or Taylor Swift told them to”. Instead, the real influence these celebrities have is in placing “information in front” of voters, such as links to register. However, this may not necessarily translate into an actual vote on election day.
Students raised questions about the barriers to voting and their impact on voter participation. Sanders Townsend acknowledged these challenges but urged people not to be disillusioned. She emphasized that “people’s votes matter because within the districts, judges’ races, state legislators as well as presidential are on the ballot”. She added that what is “great about America, our democracy is a representative democracy—if you work it, it will work for you”. Her remarks highlighted the importance of staying engaged and exercising the right to vote despite any obstacles.
The evening was marked by a warm and friendly atmosphere, with many moments where panelists and students shared laughter. It served as a good reminder that within the partisan world of elections, nuanced conversations can exist between individuals across the aisle.
This article was written by Victoria Aarons, a second year graduate student in the McCourt School of Public Policy.
Watch the full recording below.
