Gen Z voters largely optimistic about Harris but say she needs to prove herself on the campaign trail

The rapid ascension of Kamala Harris as the leading Democratic candidate for president is being viewed by many Gen Z voters on that side of the aisle as a much-needed jolt for the party and its prospects, while their Republican counterparts say her entry into the race is unlikely to sway their vote.

“There’s been a lot more excitement around this idea that we are, you know, going to have this opportunity to elect a young woman of color as president,” said Audrey Clayton, 21. “She really has an opportunity now to rebrand herself and introduce herself to the country in a new way.”

Nabila Chowdhury, a rising senior at Harvard, said she was “shocked” by President Joe Biden’s decision to drop his re-election bid. “But I think the Democratic Party has been fractured in a way that President Biden understands that he can’t really recover from, and I think Kamala might be the person who can bridge that fracture.”

But she still has some reservations about Harris, particularly when it comes to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Chowdhury said that while she was grateful for Harris’ calls for a cease-fire, “that’s the bare minimum that we’ve been asking for.”

“I think the main issue is that we’re not seeing any change. I think we will stay uncommitted until we can build trust,” she added.

Diva Patel, 21, said she was optimistic about Harris’ chances of winning in November. “She has a level of authenticity you don’t often see from politicians,” Patel said.

Clayton, Chowdhury and Patel were among a group of Gen Z Democrats who spoke with NBC News in the battleground state of Michigan after Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed Harris for president.

A Tufts University study found Michigan had the highest youth vote turnout in the country in 2022, and Democrats hope that if Harris, 59, is atop the ticket she’ll have greater appeal to younger voters than Biden, 81.

But Gen Z voters — people born between 1997 and 2012 — aren’t uniform in their views on Harris.

Some were unhappy with how quickly Biden, Democratic lawmakers and party delegates threw their support behind Harris.

“I would love to see an open convention and get the chance to hear from a number of the Democratic candidates,” said Cooper Weissman, 18, who is undeclared.

Young Republican voters who spoke with NBC News said that if Harris is atop the ticket it won’t influence their ballots this fall.

Ky Urban, 22, the president of Southern New Hampshire University College Republicans, said he agreed with Biden’s decision to leave the race — and said it helps former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.

“Biden dropping out just gave Trump and Vance the presidency,” he said.

Ruby Macias, 25, of Phoenix, said she voted for Trump in 2020 and had planned to cast a reluctant vote for Biden this time.

“He’s obviously very rapidly declining in more ways than one,” Macias said. “I feel like Harris has been the one making all the moves.”

Danny Yang, 18, of Philadelphia, said the potential change at the top of the ticket didn’t alter his thinking: He’s still not voting for Trump.

“The top issue this cycle is definitely democracy and preserving democracy, because Trump, with all these election-denying opinions and stuff, is really going to hurt our democracy,” he said.