A new grassroots political organization aims to hit Donald Trump at his base: white male voters. White Dudes for Harris has been fundraising to organize and advertise in swing states, hoping to court the “bro” vote for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Lead organizer Ross Morales Rocketto began the group in a midnight text thread between friends six weeks ago. He was inspired by the coalitions Win with Black Women and Win with Black Men. Also, after recently having weight-loss surgery, Morales Rocketto said he was exploring his own idea of masculinity.
“I said, ‘Hey you guys wanna do it? YOLO,’” Morales Rocketto told Daily Kos. “Everyone I texted said yes, and we were off to the races.”
This week, the group released a one-minute video ad targeting “white dudes.”
“I think we’re all pretty much sick of hearing how much we suck,” the ad’s narrator says. “Every time you go online, it’s the same story: We’re the problem. And yeah, some white dudes are. Trump and all his MAGA buddies are out there making it worse, shouting nonsense in their stupid red hats and acting like they speak for us when they don’t.”
Trump has made his campaign targeting fans of podcast bros, like Joe Rogan and Theo Von—men with tens of millions of followers and whose audience is predominantly white, young, and male. That’s because white male voters are the Trump campaign’s bread and butter. Trump won 62% of white men in 2016 and 57% in 2020, according to Pew Research Center.
White Dudes for Harris isn’t alone in trying to win over white men, though. Last week, there was a viral video of Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaking with college-aged men at a campaign event. The Democratic campaign also released a video of Walz changing a truck’s air filter while talking about the threats of the authoritarian agenda Project 2025.
White Dudes for Harris plans to use some of its funds toward digital ads in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The group is also hosting weekly organizing calls, with 2,000 attendees on their first YouTube livestream, with featured talks from actors like Mark Hamill and Jeff Bridges. The group is also organizing weekly volunteer opportunities for the Harris-Walz ticket until Election Day.
As The 19th reported in August, Democrats like Walz may be changing how men—and women—view traditional masculinity. Instead of brawn, shirt-ripping Hulk Hogans and brash Kid Rocks, Democrats offer a son filled with emotion and joy while supporting his father. And hunting-style camo hats, which were sold out for weeks. And second gentleman Doug Emhoff beaming with pride when speaking about his wife’s ambition.
“In order to engage people, you need to make sure you can create a space for them where they can feel a sense of belonging, where they’re not going to feel judged,” Morales Rocketto said. “This isn’t anyone else’s job to do. White men need to organize themselves to do this work. It’s not Black women’s jobs, not Black men’s jobs, not Latino women’s jobs. It’s our job.”
“The left has been ceding white men to the MAGA right for a long time now, and before it was the MAGA right, it was the tea party,” Morales Rocketto added. “This problem predates Trump.”
Though that’s true, Trump has taken toxic masculinity to a new level. He has repeatedly been accused of sexual misconduct, and last year, he was found liable for the sexual abuse of writer E. Jean Carroll. He also has a history of crude language about women, describing them as ugly, dumb, mentally ill, and so on, as well as gloating about grabbing women without their consent. Even his sloppy apology was an appeal to toxic masculinity: He called his remarks “locker room banter.”
In August, Trump also amplified a sexist remark about Kamala Harris and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, reposting an image on his Truth Social platform that showed the two women and the text “Funny how blowjobs impacted both their careers differently…”
And in many ways, Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, is only the next step in this appeal to misogyny. Vance has continued to double down on his “childless cat lady” insult against Democratic women who don’t have biological children.
But White Dudes for Harris aims to reclaim what it means to be masculine in the digital age. They’re making a progressive space for white male voters.
“He and I were like, ‘Do we know who’s doing a call for white men?’” Morales Rocketto said, remarking on how he and a friend put together the first White Dudes for Harris call. “He was like, ‘No, I haven’t heard of anything yet.’ And I looked at him and said, ‘Does that mean we have to do it?’”
