Politicians Turn to Online Debate Show to Reach Young Voters

Politicians have tried TikTok accounts, influencer collaborations, podcast appearances and even saltier language in an effort to win over younger voters. Some are now testing a different approach: letting those voters argue with them face to face.

The setting is "Surrounded," a YouTube show from Jubilee Media in which one person tries to persuade a group of people who disagree with them. In one of its latest episodes, Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore sat at a table facing a single empty chair, ringed by 20 participants who were free to challenge his positions.

The show has previously hosted political firebrands such as the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk and left-leaning commentator Mehdi Hasan. It is also drawing rising Democrats, including California Rep. Ro Khanna, Texas Senate candidate James Talarico and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

For his episode, Moore had to convince a room of infrequent and non-voters that casting a ballot is the most effective path to political change. Participants take turns rushing to the empty chair, and whoever sits first gets to continue the conversation. Topics ranged from frustration with the political system to whether voting beats staying home or protesting.

Participant Sergio Corona Jr. asked why he should bother voting if candidates never deliver. He described growing up in a family that always chose "the lesser of two evils," and said the level of evil "keeps going up and up." Moore shared the frustration but argued that disengaging means "we're not helping ourselves, we're not helping our families, we're not helping our neighbors."

The episode ran nearly 90 minutes, though Jubilee says tapings typically last three to four hours. That is a sharp contrast with the few minutes most officials get in traditional media appearances. Jubilee says its core audience is aged 18 to 34 and that it averages 382 million views a month across platforms. Founder and CEO Jason Y. Lee called the company "the Gen Z MTV" and said politicians largely avoided such digital spaces until 2024.

The shift follows the 2024 campaign, when President Trump appeared on popular podcasts and with influencers and streamers more often than former Vice President Kamala Harris. Since 2008, winning Democratic presidential candidates had received at least 60% of voters under 30, but exit polls showed Harris got 54%. "We lost the Internet and we lost the young vote," said Ammar Moussa, Moore's senior press secretary, who previously worked on the Harris campaign. Moore has said he will not run in 2028, though he is often mentioned as a possible contender.

Participants say the format matters. College student Naseem Rahman, who leans progressive and did not vote in 2024, said he wishes both Harris and Trump had appeared on such a show. Conservative content creator Marien Richardson, who took part in the Khanna episode on the Epstein files, called it "very brave" for a politician to show up, even though her views did not change.

"Surrounded" has not yet hosted a Republican elected official, though conservative commentators and activists appear regularly. Lee said there is a "large appetite" among both parties to participate, and that Jubilee has set a goal for 2028: hosting its own presidential debate.