Hotties for Harris and Project 2025 condoms: What I saw at the DNC’s Gen Z events

Voter enthusiasm in the Biden era has always seemed to favor Republicans. Trump’s seemingly never-ending campaign and rallies throughout often felt like a traveling roadshow or never-ending rock ‘n’ roll tour, complete with a cast of die-hards who follow him from town to town and camp out to be in the front row at each one of his events.

Meanwhile, Biden often struggled to draw much of a crowd anywhere except the union halls and labor conventions he tended to frequent in his official travels.

According to a Biden campaign staffer who asked to remain anonymous so they could avoid being fired for speaking to a reporter without permission, the reason the 46th president avoided traditional campaign rallies is because the young people who would normally make up the screaming crowds at a Democratic political event had almost no interest in a rally headlined by the 81-year-old politician.

The staffer told The Independent that expectations for the convention before Biden dropped out were “as low as they could have been.” But with Harris atop the ticket, they said it’s a different ball game.

“We were expecting a funeral — we got a Taylor Swift show instead,” they said.

Indeed, the comparison to Swift’s blockbuster Era’s tour felt particularly apt late Tuesday, when The Independent walked into a post-convention party co-hosted by a group called Voters of Tomorrow.

Dubbed “Hotties for Harris,” the event was billed as a “creator party” with an eye towards inspiring the Gen Z influencers who’ve flocked to the convention to create pro-Harris content.

Partygoers were greeted at the venue by thematically appropriate decorations meant to evoke enthusiasm for the ticket, including a “Hall of Hotties” wall adorned with photos of