Within the likely rise of Ed Markey as an icon for Gen Z activists

In the midst of a drawn-out primary fight against an opponent barely half his age, Septuagenarian Sen. Ed MarkeyEdward (Ed) John MarkeyThe Hill’s Morning Report – Biden’s big speech draws widespread praise Pelosi calls ‘loyalty’ to MPs in defense of Kennedy conversion The Hill’s Convention Report: Biden’s big night | The Fall of Steve Bannon | Pelosi weighs in on Mass Senate primary MORE (D-Mass.) Has become an unlikely star for a generation of young activists organizing on the Internet.

A lukewarm bundle of more than 50 Twitter accounts has sprung up in recent months to support Markey, 74, who is often basketball shoes older than some of his newest supporters.

Accounts such as “Indie Girls for Markey,” “Theater Kids for Ed Markey,” and even “Ketchup for Markey,” mostly performed by makers in their late teens and early 20s, have created memes and fancams in honor of the senator, who ‘ t opposite comes the primary of his life against Rep. Joe KennedyJoseph (Joe) Patrick KennedyThe Hill’s Morning Report – Biden’s Great Speech Draws Widespread Praise Pelosi Calls ‘Loyalty’ to Chamber Members Defending Kennedy Conversion The Hill’s Convention Report: Biden’s Big Night | The Fall of Steve Bannon | Pelosi weighs in on Mass Senate primary MORE III (D-Mass.).

They have rewritten lyrics to include his name and policies and created Twitter threads that match Markey’s photos to various online phenomena, from astrological signs to hip-hop albums.

They have also organized massive phone calls and Zoom house parties to strengthen Markey in a way that is reminiscent of the young progressives who helped to encourage Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden calls climate change one of America’s four major crisis | Head of National Parks says staff shortages in coronavirus should not prevent access | Trump meets California officials over wildfires The Hill’s Convention Report: Postmaster General grilled | Looking forward to GOP convention | Trump campaign passes billion in spending. Biden calls climate change one of America’s four major crisis MEI‘s (I-Vt.) presidential campaign.

Markey’s campaign has included what supporters call Markeyverse, posting their own videos of the senator responding to videos, creating cuts from Markey discussing policies on low-fi beats or posting a video of the candidate himself and saying , “that’s not a malarkey, I’m Ed Markey” when he hit 100,000 followers on Twitter.

“He supports such important policies that affect our generation, but also, he’s just an authentic person,” said Calla Walsh, 16, a co-founder of Students for Markey, which has more than 2,000 followers. ‘He’s not trying to produce anything artificial. He does not try to appear strange or funny. ”

The race between Markey and Kennedy, the scion of Massachusetts’ most famous political family, appears shortly after Kennedy leaves earlier this year.

A JMC Analytics question from July 29-30 showed Markey with a 3-point lead, while a July 31. 7 polls conducted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst found Markey leading by a much larger margin, 51 percent to 36 percent among all Democratic primary voters. It also showed Markey with a significant margin with young voters, leading 71 percent to 21 percent margin among people aged 18-29.

Cracks Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiDemocrats prep ads, events to hit Trump during GOP convention Democrats look to capitalize on Biden’s big moment The Hill’s Convention Report: Postmaster General grilled | Looking forward to GOP convention | Trump campaign goes billions in MORE spending (D-Calif.) Gave his approval to Kennedy on Thursday, prompting criticism from many of the progressives who supported Markey. Pelosi said she favored Kennedy out of loyalty to House members, but also said attacks on the Kennedy family contributed to her decision.

Markey has long sought to win over young voters, and his campaign shows his focus on issues that have addressed different generations of young progressives for decades.

In the 1970s, Markey focused on nuclear proliferation. In the 1990s, he enacted many of the telecommunications laws that expanded Internet accessibility and broadband capacity. He is a longtime supporter of net neutrality and an original co-sponsor of the Green New Deal.

Markey’s appeal to young voters stands out from other campaigns that may come out as forced. The line between cool and cringe is fine; Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonBiden, Democrats get fundraising boost at digital convention Democrats look to capitalize on Biden’s big moment Biden saw the return to light – will Americans take it? MORE caused eye rolls when she encouraged young voters to “Pokémon GO after the election” and Democrats’ attempt to offer “Boy Bye” phone wallpaper prior to the midterms of 2018 was mocked.

“A lot of the content that comes from paid consultants is lame because there is money and standards and a lot of unrealistic expectations are set about digital content from consultants who end up making it very cringey,” said Tyler Giles, 25, one of the activists behind the “ed markey answers guys.”

“A lot of the time, they miss the niche,” Giles said.

Markey’s campaign is trying not to clean up unaffiliated accounts. It has created a Slack channel, now with 2,200 members, to help coordinate volunteer events. Markey regularly calls in to Zoom parties during his daily 5-mile walk around his neighborhood.

But for all of Markey’s quirks and campaign memes, it’s his long-term commitment to progressive causes that has given him the support of Gen Z, activists say.

“There’s nothing cooler than just policy commitments,” said Evelyn Rubinchek, a 19-year-old student at Northeastern University and one of the thinkers behind the answers guys. ‘Most people just have no hand in the fact that young people care about policy, and we do not care as much about optics and mothers as people think we do. Of course, it’s a good bonus, but overall we stick to policies and platforms and progressivism. ”

Walsh, Markey’s campaign manager, said the campaign had made a point of hiring younger staff – and then allowing them to operate on their own. The campaign has adopted typical relational organizing strategies that drive online engagement for the younger generation of voters, who find community in the Markeyverse that encourages them to participate in the campaign outside of one phone bank or Zoom call.

If Markey wins, Walsh expects other campaigns to advocate for their digital engagement teams to follow a similar strategy and “work the magic internet machine for me and my middle of the road provisions,” Walsh said.

But the campaign and the youth behind the accounts see social media as a means to further the real goal – progressive policies.

“(Young people) are smart, and they’re dedicated and they’re honestly untrustworthy,” Walsh said. “This is not just about getting some dance points on TikTok. It’s about saving her life. ”