A month ago, if you had asked me which tech platforms would play a major role in the 2024 presidential campaign, I might have said TikTok or Facebook. I might have said YouTube. I may have even theorized that X would still play a role despite its hard-right turn under Elon Musk’s ownership.
What I wouldn’t have guessed is that this year’s breakout campaign tech would be Zoom — the unassuming videoconferencing app made famous during the pandemic and kept aloft since then by legions of remote workers dialing into meetings.
Zoom was not built for grass-roots political organizing. But over the past several weeks, it has become a critical piece of campaign tech for Democrats hoping to elect Kamala Harris. Star-studded Zoom rallies have drawn hordes of viewers, raised tens of millions of dollars and given enthusiastic Democrats an easy way to get involved.
“The feeling a lot of people have about politics today, I haven’t seen anything like it since 2008,” said Ross Morales Rocketto, the organizer of a “White Dudes for Harris” call last Monday night that drew 60,000 attendees and raised more than $4 million.
I listened in on that call, which ran to nearly three and a half hours and featured remarks from prominent Democratic elected officials, activists and celebrities. Jeff Bridges was there, as was Bradley Whitford from “The West Wing,” who memorably compared the speakers list to a “rainbow of beige.” I also viewed replays of several other Zoom rallies that were posted on YouTube after the fact.
There’s a raw, unpolished feel to these meetings that I think helps explain their popularity. Most of the speakers aren’t dressed in suits and reading from prepared remarks; they’re ad-libbing into grainy webcams in their garages and home offices, often framed by terrible lighting and occasionally interrupted by their pets.