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How 'Parks and Recreation,' 'Saturday Night Live' alums want to help Joe Biden win over young voters


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Supporters of President Joe Biden are trying a new route to reach a key voting bloc: Employing Hollywood creatives in a tight election to court pivotal young voters.

A new youth-focused Super PAC launched this week, called Won't PAC Down, is tasked with "engaging and turning out young people in 2024" to back President Joe Biden's bid for reelection, according a Monday press release. Politico first reported news of the PAC Sunday.

Writers, directors and producers of comedy hits like NBC's "Parks and Recreation" and "Saturday Night Live" have assembled in recent months, according to Politico, to pitch a variety of ads targeting a Gen Z and millennial audience. The ads, made for social media and streaming platforms, are expected to drop in early July.

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The move comes as the 81-year-old president has struggled to find his footing with some younger voters, a demographic that could decide the election this fall.

The Harvard Youth poll of voters ages 18 to 29 in April found Biden leading Trump 56% to 37% among likely young voters. While the presumptive Democratic nominee is still ahead of his Republican rival, the now-president had a wider lead of 60% young voters for Biden to 30% for Trump at the same point in the 2020 election.

The drop is the product of multiple factors. Many young voters have threatened to sit out the 2024 election in protest of Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Others have expressed disappointment with economic conditions during Biden's tenure. And some take issue with his age and are dissatisfied with facing a repeat matchup between Biden and Trump.

Allies of the president hope to reverse current trends with some strategic messaging.

“There’s a big difference between putting a celebrity on camera and having them say, ‘if you liked me in “Madame Web,” then you’re going to love voting,’ versus what we’re doing,” Travis Helwig, who is leading the Super PAC's writers' room, told Politico. He explained that the organization hopes to take "the best young writers and directors" to engage voters "in a way that will resonate with young people and get them excited."

The PAC told the outlet that it plans to focus on abortion rights, gun violence and the cost of living.