{"id":15153,"date":"2026-07-24T00:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T19:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=15153"},"modified":"2026-07-24T00:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T19:00:11","slug":"inside-the-democratic-partys-effort-to-enlist-social-media-influencers-ahead-of-the-midterms-and-2028","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=15153","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Democratic Party&#8217;s effort to enlist social media influencers ahead of the midterms and 2028"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">After their 2024 election loss, Democrats are looking to improve in one area where Republicans have dominated in recent years: the social media landscape.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The Democratic National Committee has been working to grow its &#8220;Influencer <!-- -->&amp;<!-- --> Creative&#8221; program, partnering with more than 500 creators to help amplify the party&#8217;s messaging ahead of the 2026 midterms and going into the 2028 presidential election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The effort reflects Democrats&#8217; push to better compete with Republicans online, where influencers and podcasters are becoming increasingly powerful. It also comes as concerns grow over transparency with influencers in the political arena.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Matt Rein, the DNC&#8217;s first director of the program, told ABC News in an interview that one of his top priorities is to build out the program into a sustainable model long-term.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;The program &#8230; was something that really needed to be built back up, and I think we&#8217;ve absolutely done that over the last year,&#8221; Rein told ABC News in an interview.<\/p>\n<div class=\"oLzSq QrHMO fnRUo pvsTF EhJPu vPlOC zNYgW OsTsW RMeqy daRVX ISNQ sKyCY eRftA acPPc MENS nFwaT MCnQE mEeeY SmBjI xegrY rPLsU iulOd NIuqO zzscu lzDCc aHUBM IEgzD OjMNy eQqcx SVqKB GQmdz jaoD VWDdR ONJdw vrZxD OnRTz gbbfF roDbV GPGwb oMlSS gfNzt oJhud eXZcf zhVlX \">\n<div>\n<div class=\"InlineImage GpQCA lZur asrEW \" data-testid=\"prism-inline-image\">\n<figure class=\"kzIjN GNmeK pYrtp dSqFO \" data-testid=\"prism-figure\">\n<div class=\"GpQCA lZur gIjeL \" data-testid=\"prism-ratio-frame\">\n<div class=\"FvQLF iLTd NqeUA UzzHi iWsMV \"><picture data-testid=\"prism-picture\"><source media=\"(max-width: 414px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/726fff1e-bb68-41be-b880-41a138ebf52c\/dnc-gty-jef-260722_1784744073966_hpEmbed_3x2.jpg?w=375, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/726fff1e-bb68-41be-b880-41a138ebf52c\/dnc-gty-jef-260722_1784744073966_hpEmbed_3x2.jpg?w=750 2x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 415px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/726fff1e-bb68-41be-b880-41a138ebf52c\/dnc-gty-jef-260722_1784744073966_hpEmbed_3x2.jpg?w=750, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/726fff1e-bb68-41be-b880-41a138ebf52c\/dnc-gty-jef-260722_1784744073966_hpEmbed_3x2.jpg?w=1500 2x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR SjwtZ hakZw HlUVI \" data-testid=\"prism-image\" draggable=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/726fff1e-bb68-41be-b880-41a138ebf52c\/dnc-gty-jef-260722_1784744073966_hpEmbed_3x2.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"nMMea bNYiy Mjgpa dGwha DDmxa jgKNG RGHCC aBIU PriDW aiQHS lZur \" data-testid=\"prism-caption\">\n<p><span class=\"hsDdd OOSI GpQCA lZur VlFaz \" data-testid=\"prism-truncate\"><span><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ \">Social media influencers wearing white produce content during the final day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center on August 22, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ YNujN JGtjI aZFDu rkKLh \">Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Rein told ABC News that there is no minimum number of followers that a creator needs to have to be part of the organization&#8217;s program. Any creator that wants to be involved can be.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;We have folks in our Signal [chat] about 1,000 followers; we have people who have 10 million [followers], right? I think our focus is getting content to people who are reaching Americans every single day online and certainly I think we&#8217;ve done that,&#8221; Rein said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \"><a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/journalism\/fact-sheet\/news-influencers-fact-sheet\/\" target=\"_blank\" dir=\"ltr\">According to a Pew Research<\/a> report<!-- -->\u00a0<!-- -->published in November 2025, about 1 in 5 U.S. adults (21%) say they regularly get news from news influencers on social media.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Meanwhile, about 38% of younger adults, ages 18-29, are especially likely to get news from news influencers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/Politics\/influencers-access-political-conventions-campaigns-court-young-voters\/story?id=113100221\" dir=\"ltr\">DNC supports participating creators<\/a> by providing political video clips they can share on their platforms, along with regular briefings featuring Democratic lawmakers and officials. Recent briefings have included Rep. Jason Crow discussing the Iran conflict with more than 30 influencers and Rep. Jamie Raskin speaking about his work related to the Jeffrey Epstein files.<\/p>\n<div class=\"oLzSq QrHMO fnRUo pvsTF EhJPu vPlOC zNYgW OsTsW RMeqy daRVX ISNQ sKyCY eRftA acPPc MENS nFwaT MCnQE mEeeY SmBjI xegrY rPLsU iulOd NIuqO zzscu lzDCc aHUBM IEgzD OjMNy eQqcx SVqKB GQmdz jaoD VWDdR ONJdw vrZxD OnRTz gbbfF roDbV GPGwb oMlSS gfNzt oJhud eXZcf zhVlX \">\n<div>\n<div class=\"InlineImage GpQCA lZur asrEW \" data-testid=\"prism-inline-image\">\n<figure class=\"kzIjN GNmeK pYrtp dSqFO \" data-testid=\"prism-figure\">\n<div class=\"GpQCA lZur \" style=\"padding-bottom:66.70524691358025%\" data-testid=\"prism-ratio-frame\">\n<div class=\"FvQLF iLTd NqeUA UzzHi iWsMV \"><picture data-testid=\"prism-picture\"><source media=\"(max-width: 414px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/0edca283-f65b-4668-8064-f8905c29638a\/ken-martin-gty-jef-260722_1784744107547_hpMain.jpg?w=375, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/0edca283-f65b-4668-8064-f8905c29638a\/ken-martin-gty-jef-260722_1784744107547_hpMain.jpg?w=750 2x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 415px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/0edca283-f65b-4668-8064-f8905c29638a\/ken-martin-gty-jef-260722_1784744107547_hpMain.jpg?w=750, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/0edca283-f65b-4668-8064-f8905c29638a\/ken-martin-gty-jef-260722_1784744107547_hpMain.jpg?w=1500 2x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR SjwtZ hakZw HlUVI \" data-testid=\"prism-image\" draggable=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/0edca283-f65b-4668-8064-f8905c29638a\/ken-martin-gty-jef-260722_1784744107547_hpMain.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"nMMea bNYiy Mjgpa dGwha DDmxa jgKNG RGHCC aBIU PriDW aiQHS lZur \" data-testid=\"prism-caption\">\n<p><span class=\"hsDdd OOSI GpQCA lZur VlFaz \" data-testid=\"prism-truncate\"><span><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ \">Ken Martin, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, speaks to the reporters following a press conference with Texas Democrats at the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades union hall on August 05, 2025 in Aurora, Illinois.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ YNujN JGtjI aZFDu rkKLh \">Scott Olson\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">At the DNC&#8217;s winter meeting, they coordinated a creator hit with Arielle Fodor (who is known on TikTok as &#8220;Mrs. Frazzled&#8221; with 1.4 million followers) and former Vice President Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">As political campaigns continue to invest in digital creators,<!-- -->\u00a0<a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/www.notus.org\/2028-election\/democratic-presidential-primary-2028-clowncar\" target=\"_blank\" dir=\"ltr\">NOTUS has reported<\/a>\u00a0<!-- -->that the DNC is considering hosting a creator-led debate during the 2028 Democratic presidential primaries. Asked about the idea, Rein did not rule it out but said his current focus remains on expanding the creator network.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;I&#8217;m focused on &#8217;28 and focused on the future and building these relationships,&#8221; Rein said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \"><strong class=\"vtkaO \">Transparency concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The growing role of influencers in political campaigns has also fueled concerns about transparency in the creator economy, particularly around whether audiences know when campaigns or affiliated organizations are paying creators.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">As of right now, there are no federal laws requiring social media influencers to disclose payments from a campaign or political entity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Progressive activist and billionaire Tom Steyer faced<!-- -->\u00a0<!-- -->scrutiny in the California gubernatorial primary<!-- -->\u00a0<!-- -->for paying social media influencers to post favorable things about him. The Fair Political Practices Commission opened an investigation into Steyer&#8217;s campaign for potentially violating a 2023 California law that requires online influencers to disclose when they&#8217;re paid to support a candidate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \"><a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/16\/business\/media\/influencers-political-financing-disclosure.html\" target=\"_blank\" dir=\"ltr\">The New York Times reported<\/a>\u00a0<!-- -->in May that Carlos Eduardo Espina, an influencer with over 17 million followers across his platforms, endorsed Steyer in the California race. But what he did not disclose in his videos was that the Steyer campaign had paid him $100,000 as an adviser.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Espina is<!-- -->\u00a0<a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/Politics\/meet-demand-influencers-democratic-politics\/story?id=132078383\" dir=\"ltr\">one of the most in-demand influencers in Democratic politics<\/a>, having collaborated with nine possible presidential hopefuls. Espina did not respond to ABC&#8217;s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Videos that Espina<!-- -->\u00a0<a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@carlos_eduardo_espina\/video\/7639585655357459742?_r=1&amp;_t=ZT-98FcXtcashh\" target=\"_blank\" dir=\"ltr\">posted online<\/a>\u00a0<!-- -->in support of Steyer included appearing on the campaign trail with the then-gubernatorial candidate, urging Californians to vote for him in the race, and saying he would bring &#8220;real change.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In response to reports that his campaign paid influencers, Steyer wrote on Substack in May that his campaign did not pay influencers for their endorsement; rather, it paid them for the time they spend working on his campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;We compensate them for their work and their time, just like campaigns pay staff, consultants, media firms, strategists, and vendors across every part of politics. Every creator we compensate has been and will be publicly disclosed as required by law,&#8221; Steyer wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Steyer was defeated in the June primary, failing to advance to the November general election after spending hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money to his campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Last October, the Campaign Legal Center petitioned the Federal Election Commission to initiate a rulemaking that would require influencers&#8217; political ads to include on-ad &#8220;paid for by&#8221; disclaimers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Shanna Ports, senior legal counsel for campaign finance at Campaign Legal Center, told ABC News that it&#8217;s becoming a more common tactic of campaigns, party committees and PACs to pay content creators to put out messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;There is no disclaimer required on these influencers&#8217; posts at least on the federal level, which means that when voters are seeing messaging from influencers that they follow online,&#8221; Ports said. &#8220;They have no way to know if that&#8217;s the influencer organically supporting that candidate or if they have been paid to do so.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Rein told ABC News that the DNC does not pay influencers and is focused on building relationships with them, adding that there are no expectations or requirements that creators post the content shared with them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">&#8220;I think for us the most important thing, and I would say this, of you know, the broader ecosystem, is forming these relationships now with creators that will pay dividends, of course, this November and far beyond,&#8221; Rein said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After their 2024 election loss, Democrats are looking to improve in one area where Republicans have dominated in recent years: the social media landscape. The Democratic National Committee has been working to grow its &#8220;Influencer &amp; Creative&#8221; program, partnering with more than 500 creators to help amplify the party&#8217;s messaging ahead of the 2026 midterms&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/799f232a-8037-4264-89ec-4d87e25506f6\/influencers-gty-gmh-260723_1784820853655_hpMain_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abc-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}