November, 09 2022, 07:12am EDT
Sunrise: We Are So Damn Proud of Young People
MADISON, Wis.
In response to the youth turnout numbers coming out of the election, Sunrise Movement Executive Director, Varshini Prakash, released the following statement:
"Young people saved this election. Two elections in a row, young people proved that Gen Z is a vital voting bloc that can and will be the bedrock of the Democratic Party. That's why our leaders must invest in us - from running candidates who fight for the issues that matter most to our generation, to delivering policy at the federal level that make our lives better, to putting money into critical youth organizing efforts that have historically been undervalued.
"Democrats are winning young voters by a significant margin. Imagine what the margins would be if we actually invested in these voters. The party thinks they can create a TikTok account and reach young people, but the reality is that they have to intentionally bring us in and deliver for us.
"For us, it's never been just about defeating Donald Trump. We turn out to fight for the issues our generation faces everyday, like the impending climate crisis, protecting our reproductive freedoms, and ending gun violence in our schools. The Democratic Party needs to understand that if we want to win."
This year, Sunrise contacted over 3 million voters, primarily under the age of 35, through phone calls, texts, and on the ground canvassing. Sunrise helped power John Fetterman, Summer Lee, and Greg Casar to important wins, and had organizing and digital operations in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
In total, we made 114,605 dials and sent 442,032 into Wisconsin, in addition to thousands of conversations with voters. In Pennsylvania, we contacted 417,241 young, working class, first-time voters, and knocked on over 7,000 doors in the final weekend with partnering groups. By Election Day, we were also able to reach more than 700,000 young voters across 15 of our priority states, including Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, with social ad campaigns totaling over 2 million impressions.
On the ground in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the top issues Sunrise heard from students were resoundingly abortion access and the climate crisis. Of the students we surveyed over the past weekend, 53% identified climate as one of their top issues.
Sunrise Movement is a movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process.
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