Tomorrow, Americans head to the polls for the midterm elections. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Democrat, Republican, and Independent candidates embrace creator-forward campaign strategies to reach their voters. With 59% of US adults getting news from social media, platforms are one of the most crucial channels for political communications.
Here’s how that’s showing up this election cycle →
Clipping is now a campaign strategy. Politicians like Michigan US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed have launched clipping hubs, encouraging supporters to distribute short videos across X, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. The approach borrows from creators who use clips to reach audiences beyond their existing followers.
AI is on the ballot. This is the first election cycle where AI regulation and data center construction is a top-reported voter issue. As AI and tech companies deal with trillion-dollar child safety lawsuits across several US states, social platforms will likely cozy up to politicians who vote for less regulations, while parent groups fight for the opposite.
Creator companies are expanding into election coverage. Jubilee, the media company behind political YouTube formats like Surrounded, will host live coverage of election results for the first time. While the concept of an election livestream isn’t new, Jubilee’s follows its recent partnership with CNN—where the two organizations co-hosted a town hall interviewing Texas US Senate candidate James Talarico.
By moving beyond its usual long-form formats and bringing a bipartisan creator duo on as hosts, Jubilee is experimenting with how to cover breaking political news for its audience of 11M.
Bottom line: About one in four US adults say creator content has influenced their voting habits, according to a study commissioned by Business Insider.
From campaign clipping hubs to election-night livestreams, the tools and formats creators use to build audiences are becoming part of how politics is communicated and covered.
