While the onset of political influencers predates the 2026 election cycle, this primary contest is laying bare the extent to which new media is reshaping campaigns in an era when more voters than ever, particularly young people, are following politics via TikTok and short-form social media videos that are not subject to the same standards of accuracy as mainstream news outlets.
That the political content machine has taken such a hold here is in part a reflection of the two candidates themselves, both of whom rose to political prominence through their knack for going viral. Crockett and Talarico have regularly appeared in videos with political content creators, hoping that by doing so they can speak to both new audiences and the reliable Democratic voters who have abandoned legacy news.
