Young democrat voters mobilize battleground districts across the tri-state

A team of young Democrats from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are targeting crucial counties that could make or break control of Congress.

All 43 congressional districts within these states are on the ballot this November, and young voters are a pivotal voting bloc that can swing the election.

The effort includes canvassing in New York’s 3rd, 4th, 17th, 18th and 19th congressional districts, according to Jovan Richards, the president of the New York State Young Democrats. Richards' group will focus on door-knocking, phone calls, text messages and emails targeting young voters in those neighborhoods.

Richards ensured the group was "doing everything we can to get to all the battleground districts."

The organization also plans to fund a bus tour with stops in N.Y.'s Broome County, Ulster County and Nassau County, as well as support a separate social media campaign, says Richards.

Focusing on the voting patterns of the Asian and Jewish populations is crucial for the Democrats' success, according to a former Long Island legislator.

Richards's New Jersey counterpart is Fatima Heyward, who has been the president of New Jersey Young Democrats since 2019, and before that, co-founded the Young Democrats Black Caucus in South Jersey.

Heyward is excited about the Senate race in New Jersey post Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez's resignation and conviction of federal corruption charges.

Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) won the three-way Democratic primary in June and gained national attention in August during his speech recalling the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capital at this year's Democratic National Convention.

Heyward believes young Democrats in her state should curtail their message toward securing women's reproductive rights and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.

A panel of four teenage board members from Montgomery, East Brunswick, South Brunswick and Livingston high schools spoke with NBC New York as representatives of the New Jersey Chapter of the High School Democrats of America.

Rhea Gupta is a rising senior at South Brunswick High School and aims to promote Democratic-backed education policies such as the Freedom to Read Act, a bill introduced to the state legislature in January establishing requirements for books in public schools and libraries and protections for librarians.

"Even more than that, I know this year in New Jersey, there was a lot of budget and funding changes for schools, especially in South Brunswick. I think it's really important that we think more about things like that, things that directly affect us," Gupta told News 4.

South Brunswick is one of the New Jersey areas impacted by the $1.4 million budget cut in state aid for the 2024-2025 school year. Due to these state-wide cuts, she says certain school extracurricular activities have stopped and daily transportation has affected certain communities.

Democrats dominated in wins through Connecticut's five congressional districts in 2020, but Young Democrats of Connecticut leader Travis Tanuis says it would be a mistake to count Republicans out in 2024.

Connecticut State representatives Michelle Cook, Maria Horn and Eleni Kavros DeGraw are legislators Tanuis references who work across the aisle to champion democratic policies in swing areas.

"People think Connecticut's all blue, but I live in a very red area. The individuals I work with hold leadership positions in the state, but they still have to fight for their positions every single year to make sure they're still on the ballot," Tanuis told News 4.

The Young Democrats of Connecticut host a podcast called The Young Dems Table that launched last November. Tanuis says engagement on the group's social media account has skyrocketed after Vice President Kamala Harris became the presidential democratic frontrunner.