Presidential candidate Claudia De la Cruz’s rise in popularity among voters wasn’t as conventional as her other contenders. Instead of gaining supporters through televised debates or campaign speeches, or a long-running career in politics, De la Cruz went viral on TikTok.
In November 2023, the Bronx-based educator gave an impassioned speech at a pro-Palestine rally in New York, which instantly caught the attention of thousands of Gen Zers, who urged her and her team to create a TikTok account. “[They] basically said, ‘You need to talk to us because we’re vibing with your platform. Your platform speaks to us, but you need to talk to us directly,’” De la Cruz tells Her Campus in an exclusive interview.
De la Cruz says her decision to run for president with the Party for Socialism and Liberation came from political responsibility rather than personal inspiration. “The ultimate goal is to be able to build an instrument of working-class people that are active, that are engaged in political struggle and work every day, not only every four years,” she says. “Putting our faith on career politicians doesn’t work. Working class people ultimately have to be the ones to build the type of political organizations that will actually respond to the majority of people in this country.”
De la Cruz knows how impactful this presidential election will be for Gen Zers, and that student loan debt, housing, and environmental devastation are some of the largest causes of stress and uncertainty among Gen Z. So we asked her straight up — why should Gen Z vote for you? How will you help this generation? Here’s what she had to say:
“The current state of affairs, under the capitalist system in which we live, does not provide much hope for a new generation of working class people, particularly those coming from the most oppressed parts of society.
The economy, debt, housing, the job market, environmental devastation are all a cause of uncertainty, anxiety, and stress amongst Gen Z. We are not selling promises, we are offering an avenue to fight back, join organized struggle, and win. No one should be getting into debt for wanting to study. No one should doubt the possibility of having a good job, with good pay and benefits. No one should wonder where their next meal is coming from. We have two options: (1) tolerate the system that creates billionaires where five people own more wealth than billions of people in the world; (2) OR we become active participants in building a movement strong enough to transform that reality.
We know that the electoral system under capitalism is a sham. Both Democrats and Republicans contribute to creating the conditions we face, not solving them. We believe that only under a people’s democracy — one that is not controlled by bankers, Wall Street, or corporations — can change actually happen.
Student debt, homelessness, lack of access to housing, health care, and employment are all issues that have solutions. But this is not a priority for capitalists. In fact, it’s not in their interest to resolve these problems. By seizing the top 100 corporations in this country and cutting down the military budget by 90%, we would have trillions of dollars to invest in solving these problems. This is possible, if we understand it is possible and urgent.
The VoteSocialist2024 campaign aims to connect with a new generation of people who have witnessed and understand that there is a need to uproot the capitalist system in order to guarantee a future for them, and generations to come. A generation that has been active in fighting police brutality and mass incarceration, who has been organizing around student debt, climate crisis, LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, amongst many other issues, and understand the limitations of fighting against a system that is sophisticated and organized to attack the majority of people in this country.
We believe Gen Z is undoubtedly a major force in this larger strategy.”
Instead of taking De la Cruz’s response at face value, we wanted to hear from Gen Zers on what they thought of it. So we tapped Her Campus’ Election 2024 focus group, which consists of more than two dozen college students from around the country and across the political spectrum, to give their thoughts on De la Cruz’s campaign and statement to Gen Zers. Here are their honest reviews, and their takes on whether they’d vote for De la Cruz or not.
“While I love all the ideas Claudia puts out, and I believe they are all major issues that Gen Z cares about in voting, this statement doesn’t provide a lot of the “how” needed to solve these issues. While Democrats and Republicans are both creating more issues than they are solving in our democratic system, the chance that an Independent Party candidate, much less a female candidate, would win is very, very small. As much as I truly hate to say it and I wish it weren’t the case, I would rather spend my vote on whoever the major candidate is for the Democratic Party, because they have the greatest chance of keeping Donald Trump out of office, which at this point, is my biggest concern in the election. To achieve the change my generation wants, like canceling student loan debt, solving the climate crisis, and maintaining LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, the first step is making sure that former President Trump stays out of office for good.” — Grace Cardinal, Democratic Party
“As a person from Generation Z, her statement really touches me. Today’s world is really difficult, and Generation Z is afraid of the future. That’s why I think Claudia’s statement is very good and I agree with her. I would 100% choose her.” — Kübra Yavuz, No Political Party Affiliation
“I agree that most Gen Z citizens in America are ready for the long-awaited solutions to the social issues that are and have faced Americans since previous generations. American citizens want a government that will hear and act on the concerns of the American people, not do certain things that maintain the relationship between the government and high-earning corporate businesses — and Gen Z seems to be the generation that has enough boldness to bring it to politicians’ attention. What I don’t agree all the way with, however, is socialism’s ways to go about granting the needs of the people in regard to food, health care, high wage jobs, and eliminating debt. Having free access, granted by the government, to these needs and others would be the dream, but it could potentially open up the possibility of citizens not valuing them or the process of having them as much as they would under capitalism, where it takes hard work and sometimes money in order to get money. If I am to vote for someone in the Socialist Party like Claudia De la Cruz, I want them to understand that American citizens want their needs met but met with some kind of order where goods and services are not taken for granted, and where the power of the people does not get to a point to where it gets to some citizens’ heads and could potentially cause events like anarchy because the government and corporations are working for them.” — Vivian Gilbert, Independent Party
“I think that Claudia De La Cruz makes excellent points. Our generation has been set up to fail by those who designed our current political system. Corruption and corporations that buy politicians have immense power and influence, and they have zero interest in overturning a system that benefits them so well. It is crucial for our generation to come together and become more involved in politics so that we may make changes for the good of society and not for multinational corporations. I also hope that she is being genuine and we are not once again fed lies by politicians itching for the Gen Z vote.” — Paige Oltmans, Independent Party
“Even though I was disappointed and a little surprised to not see anything addressing the climate crisis head on, I think it’s incredibly important to look at all the good parts of De la Cruz’s campaign, because the issues of our dystopian, late-stage capitalism do not have enough energy directed at them. Despite her standing for a lot of things that I believe and believe in, especially when compared to her opponents, I doubt I will be voting for Candidate De la Cruz this election. Due to no other candidate having the platform and publicity of the two front-runners (especially as she works against our two-party system), I worry that the number of primarily young people that would be drawn to vote for De la Cruz would end up splitting the vote that would otherwise, however reluctantly, go Democrat.” — Anonymous, Democratic Party
The 2024 election cycle is going to be extremely consequential, with issues like foreign affairs, reproductive rights, and student loans at the forefront. Over 40 million Gen Zers will be eligible to vote in 2024, and the future of the election is entirely in their hands.