Democrats court young female voters with celebrities and song

PHILADELPHIA — Young women of America: The Democrats are trying to serenade you.

Unlike last week's Republican National Convention, where the big-name stars were limited to celebs like Scott Baio and Duck Dynasty's Willie Robertson, the Democratic National Convention's guest list includes female musicians like Demi Lovato, Alicia Keys and Katy Perry and celebrities including Lena Dunham, America Ferrera and Sarah Silverman, all speaking in support of nominee Hillary Clinton.

A pattern emerges from the guest list. They're young, female and have spoken out about feminism and liberal policies in the past. With more Millennial women voting for Bernie Sanders than Clinton in the primaries, the Democratic candidate’s convention squad of feminist-friendly celebrities seems like a play for young women’s votes.

“It’s the younger women that she hasn’t done as well with, and who she’s really appealing to,” said Michael Delli Carpini, Dean of the Annenberg School for Communications at the University of Pennsylvania.

Iowa delegate Sruthi Palaniappan, one of the convention’s youngest at 18, was particularly inspired by Meryl Streep’s feminism-championing speech. “This whole convention is about the impact young women can have on the political process,” she said, explaining the power of seeing her celebrity role models support Clinton. “I think it’s important not to just support a candidate because someone famous does, but to listen to why.”

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But as Clinton works to make herself as more relatable to young people, does surrounding herself with celebrities help or hurt?

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According to Delli Carpini, endorsements work if the figure has expertise in an area, if they’re a trustworthy figure to the public, or preferably both. He sees figures like Dunham and Lovato, who’ve established political activism as part of their brand, as wise alliances for the Clinton campaign to make.

“Several of those people have that kind of authenticity, they’ve been active in political and social issues before this campaign, so they really do have that credibility,” he said.

Some younger voters, however, think differently about the Clinton campaign’s motivations in bringing on celebrity endorsers.

“I don’t know if Snoop Dogg endorsing Hillary means anything,” said Aaron Ghitelman, 25, the communications manager of the political advocacy non-profit HeadCount. He pointed out that while the rapper, who’s in Philadelphia supporting the Democratic candidate this week, supports legalizing marijuana, Clinton does not. “Snoop endorses Hillary, but she doesn't endorse legalization...in that way, it kinda feels weird.”

HeadCount hosted concerts at both the Republican and Democratic conventions aimed at registering Millennials to vote. Ghitelman recommends that politicians hoping to court Millennial voters focus on issues rather than big-name endorsements.

“To a certain extent, to use a musician to win over supporters feels like pandering,” he said.

For Alexis Waksmunski, a 23-year-old Sanders delegate from Pennsylvania, the big names appearing at Democratic conventions didn’t repel her from the process, but rather pulled her in.

Attending the 2012 convention as a volunteer, she was moved enough by the big-name appearances and dramatic speeches to become further involved with her state’s Democratic delegation, returning four years later as a delegate.

To further connect with potential voters, many of the celebrity speakers shared stories of overcoming adversity, with Lovato talking mental health, Dunham speaking about her sexual assault and Ferrera and Longoria discussing immigrants' experiences in the U.S.

But when Sarah Silverman, previously a vocal Sanders supporter, took the stage Monday night, she skipped the personal anecdotes. Instead, she declared she’d “proudly vote” for Clinton, before blasting the Vermont senator’s more radical fans.

"Can I just say to the ‘Bernie or bust’ people, you're being ridiculous," she said, to a mix of cheers and jeers from the crowd.

Shauna Valdez, a 25-year-old Sanders delegate from Minnesota, disagreed.

“I thought it was insulting,” she said. “Just the way she said it. She could’ve maybe given us a message why we should get behind Clinton, instead of shoot us down.”

Valdez’ colleague from Minnesota, Clinton delegate Andie Whitaker, 24, defended Silverman’s comments. “I think she was trying to cut through,” she said. “She probably offended a number of people, but at the same time, there are Sanders delegates who are open-minded to Hillary Clinton and want party unity.

Waksmunski identified herself as one of those Clinton-friendly Sanders delegates. “The ‘Bernie or bust’ movement needs to realize what they’re doing to the party as a whole,” she said. “I agreed with [Silverman]...we need to chill out.”