Harris’ campaign is launching two WhatsApp channels dedicated to reaching Muslim and Arab voters and volunteers today, according to a campaign official who shared the plans with NBC News.
According to the official, WhatsApp is one of the primary methods of communication in Muslim and Arab communities, and it is used far more than other social media outlets. The campaign sees the new WhatsApp channels — one aimed at Arab voters and one at Muslim voters — as effective outreach on a platform where voters are already gathering.
“We’re meeting these voters where they are, including popular online communities like WhatsApp,” Nasrina Bargzie, the campaign’s director of Muslim and Arab outreach, said in a statement. “We’ll share information on everything from the Vice President’s work towards a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza to her plan to grow small businesses — and all those issues that matter to this diverse voting bloc. Our goal is to engage both undecided voters and to make sure our volunteers have the resources they need to talk to their friends and family.”
The effort will be modeled on the Harris campaign’s Latino WhatsApp channel, which the official said launched less than a month ago and has 24,000 members.
The Harris campaign official who shared the plans with NBC News also noted that Bargzie and Brenda Abdelall, the campaign’s deputy director of Muslim and Arab outreach, have met with community leaders across the country, including leaders from Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Minnesota, Arizona and Nevada.
Bargzie and Abdelall said they have held in-person one-on-one meetings, group roundtables and online meetings with leaders in places such as in Washington, D.C., Michigan, Wisconsin and Texas. The two Muslim and Arab outreach officials also plan to head to Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan over the next two weeks, the campaign official said.
