The New Way of Campaigning Won’t Cut It

HEIDI LIANG/DEERFIELD SCROLL

This time last year, in April of 2025, I was on my phone when I received two Instagram notifications: a follow request from user @kwasi4prez2025 and another from @pzhangforprez. A couple of weeks later, another account—@elloraforpres—popped up on my feed. I remember scrolling through their posts, watching Ms. Heidi Valk’s biology class yell “We endorse Ellora for President” and Prof John Taylor say "You're the best Patrick!”, enthusiastically pumping a fist into the air. 

With both the 2026-2027 Deerfield Student Body President Elections and the US Midterm Elections coming up, I’ve been reflecting a lot on how campaigning has changed in recent years. As candidates, what does it take to win someone's vote? As voters, what does it mean to give someone our vote? Unfortunately, I believe that the answer to these questions has become increasingly based on shallow impressions rather than comprehensive understanding. 

Before I continue, I would like to recognize that there is value in the digestibility of information, especially in an institution of any kind that seeks to promote civil discourse and the interaction and exchange of diverse ideas.  I think that American academic and author Walter Russell Mead best describes the need for it when he writes in his book Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How It Changed the World, “Democratic society depends on myths; without such a convenient historical shorthand that compresses and simplifies extremely complex historical events and political questions into ideas and images that nonspecialists can understand and use, democratic debate would simply disappear” (Mead, 2001, p. 61).

However, there also needs to be a balance between digestibility and accuracy. Yes, if the communication of an idea is too accurate and complex, few people will understand it enough to make sense of it and formulate their own opinions about it; this prevents its propagation and widespread discussion. But, there is danger in making an idea too digestible; if it is too simplified to be even somewhat of a representation of its original meaning, the opinions people form about it aren’t applicable. When candidates reduce a complex argument, idea, or policy to a catchy slogan, they lose its original meaning; in this regard, I believe that campaigning has swung too far towards digestibility.

Recently, I read a New York Times Guest Essay titled “The Old Way of Campaigning Won’t Cut It Anymore.” In it, author and veteran Democratic political strategist David Plouffe argues that “[a] successful campaign in 2026 must operate like a full-time production studio.” He claims that in order to run a successful campaign, a candidate must cover all of their bases; they must “harmonize” their message across Facebook accounts, Tiktok reels, Twitch livestreams, in-person events, and everything in between—that is, they must convey the same cohesive and simple message to as many people as possible.

In terms of campaign strategy, I agree with him. In a period in which new voters are increasingly disinterested in politics— a 2025 Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll revealed that only 20% of adults under age 30 follow politics very closely—outreach through short, memorable clips and slogans seems crucial for garnering widespread support. 

Candidates in Deerfield elections use the same strategy. Current Student Body President Patrick Zhang ’26 described, “I just went into [my campaign] with a mindset of trying to emulate stuff that I’ve seen online, like creating funny videos and eye-catching videos that make you feel good…I think I focused a lot more on the social media aspect than anybody else. I think the videos were a big reason that I won.” This approach worked for Zhang and for 2024-2025 Student Body President Billy Tang ’25, who both had Instagram accounts with significantly more followers than anyone else in their respective election cycles. 

However, I believe that with this model of campaigning, we lose a crucial level of deeper understanding that is necessary for us—as voters—to make informed decisions that truly align with what we want. Scrolling through Deerfield Student Body President candidates’ Instagram accounts, I noticed that they included starkly little to no information about what changes candidates were seeking to carry out in office. None of them spoke to the ways in which a certain candidate was unique in their vision for Deerfield. Reflecting on my personal experience with last year’s election, I was surprised to realize that I couldn’t recall what any of the candidates’ speeches were about. I struggled to come up with any memory of what promises they campaigned on. Even now, I honestly cannot come up with a single campaign-based reason why I voted for the person I voted for.  Beyond Deerfield, while I don’t believe that US voters are randomly throwing their votes around, the shift towards slogan-based, overly outreach-focused campaigning makes it more difficult for them to identify the true implications of the policies candidates advocate for. In that sense, we increasingly cast votes based on the digital aesthetic appeal of candidates rather than their ability to propose realistic and effective policies that align with our personal values.

In the same article in which he advocates for studio-production-like campaigning, Plouffe himself admits that this new system isn’t a good predictor of candidates' performances in office. He writes, “Is this a great way to audition and select our leaders, especially for executive offices? Not particularly. The abilities to communicate and rally and comfort the public in a crisis are essential ingredients in a strong leader. Those skills, at least, a voter can gauge through video. What’s harder to judge are the routine aspects of those jobs — how you hire and fire, make decisions and operate day to day.” 

When we start making choices based on impressions instead of thorough and well-researched comprehension, we’re bound to be disappointed with the results. Voter dissatisfaction rates reflect this: a March 2026 survey found that the majority of both Democrats and Republicans—69% of all adults—are unhappy with the way democracy is functioning in the United States. In conversation, I hear complaints about how the Deerfield student council doesn't seem to do anything more than I hear about what it does.

So what can we do about all of this? How can we, high school students, try to change a country-wide, decades-long shift in campaigning strategy?

Fundamentally, I believe that change needs to start from the bottom up; as voters, we need to start being more curious about the issues that matter to us and pushing candidates to get into specifics. Candidates can only campaign on false promises or vague ideas if voters don’t ask hard questions. We need to educate ourselves enough to know what questions to ask, then care enough to ask them. The meaning of campaigns is not in single-dimensional, single-sentence slogans that simply sound good; anyone can come up with those. The meaning is in the complexity, in how people respond to difficult situations and in their framework for achieving universal goals. If we push for nuanced campaigning that addresses the intricacies that exist in any position, the narrative around the most effective way to garner support must follow. We can’t change the nature of US politics, and this problem doesn’t have a quick fix. But at least in our small preparatory high school in Western Massachusetts, we can begin to shift the culture. 

Three days ago, @blytheforpresident requested to follow me on Instagram. Two days ago, I received follow requests from @votenateugwonali, @dimakforda, and @tedfreedmanforprez. I’ve begun to see campaign posters pop up in the Dining Hall and in academic buildings. Once again, it’s time for us as the student body to decide who we want to represent us this coming year. Before you cast your vote, I would encourage you to try to understand the candidates. Don’t just listen to their speeches. Don’t just watch their Instagram campaign reels. Don’t just go off of impressions. Reach out with questions, talk to them in person, or engage actively in another manner, because with our right to vote comes the responsibility to vote informed.