In Pennsylvania, the competition for youth voter support becomes more intense as momentum leans towards Harris.
"I was pondering, how can I convince this 18-year-old, fresh from high school graduation, 'Hey! Spend the entire day chatting with strangers over the phone for Joe Biden'?" questioned a 22-year-old student from University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown to CNN in a recent interview.
"Quite a job, not a breeze," concluded Anderson, who heads UPJ's College Democrats.
But when Kamala Harris became the new Democrats' nominee for president, Anderson stated the vibe shifted.
"Definitely changed," he said with a smile.
As the November election approaches, the campaigns of both Harris and former President Trump are putting in a lot of effort to invigorate younger voters.
However, while surveys suggested Trump was gaining ground with this significant voting block during his run against Biden, recent data shows momentum among younger voters has swung back to the Democrats with Harris as the nominee.
A New York Times/Siena College poll released last Thursday found that 58% of nationwide likely voters aged 18-29 supported Harris, while 37% backed Trump in a head-to-head race.
The same survey conducted in July, before Biden dropped out of the race, found that 48% of that age group backed Biden and 45% supported Trump.
"I wasn't, I'd say, as enthusiastic as I feel today," said Mariam Bangurah, UPJ's College Democrats secretary.
A daughter of immigrants, Bangurah believes Harris' background and relative youth have motivated younger voters, although Harris supporters can't afford to be complacent.
"We're doing well, but we really need to maintain that energy and that's what I'm concerned about. I'm concerned about our energy dropping," said Bangurah.
Some Republicans have noticed this shift in momentum.
"I think she's helping young voters turn out, and for that, I'm thankful, regardless of who you're voting for," said Electra Janis, a commissioner in Washington County, outside Pittsburgh.
But the 28-year-old Republican told CNN that while Harris might have momentum among younger voters now, Trump can still erode that support by focusing on topics like the economy.
"In this specific case, I will say when I'm voting for President Trump, I'm voting for his policies," said Janis, explaining her pitch to younger voters.
"(The Trump campaign's) volunteer base has grown significantly in Pennsylvania, and I think what they need to do is encourage the young, passionate, motivated individuals to go out and get others involved," she added.
The campaigns
The Trump campaign is using social media and volunteers on the ground to reach out to young voters.
"Young voters across America feel increasingly disillusioned as the American Dream of homeownership and financial stability has become just a pipe dream under Kamala Harris," said Kush Desai, a Pennsylvania spokesperson for the Trump campaign.
"That's why we're focusing on taking President Trump's vision and agenda for an American economic renaissance directly to young voters wherever they are in Pennsylvania - from TikTok to college tailgates to their doorsteps," he said.
Steven Kail, a 33-year-old service technician, told CNN he joined the Trump campaign after witnessing the attempted assassination of the former president during a rally in Butler, approximately 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.
"Before that, I wasn't doing much volunteer work at all," said Kail. "(But) after what I saw in Butler ... what I saw that day, I just wanted to help out."
As a "Trump Force 47" volunteer, Kail goes door-knocking to rally support for Trump – with younger voters, he tries to stick to key issues.
"I start off by talking about the economy, their cost of living, especially if they're in college, paying higher prices for gas, utilities, groceries," he said.
While the Harris campaign is also utilizing social media and celebrity endorsements, such as Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish, to mobilize young people, it is focusing on college campuses to get out the vote.
On National Voter Registration Day last week, the Harris campaign celebrated having held "more than 130 events focused on registering young voters" in battleground states, primarily on college campuses.
Campus competition
Recently, on a bustling afternoon in a heavily-trafficked dorm on the main campus of the University of Pittsburgh, the College Republicans were distributing Trump buttons and bumper stickers.
Once their shift ended, the College Democrats moved in with Harris signs and stickers across the hall.
"Are you guys registered to vote? Do you want a Kamala Harris sticker?" called out a chorus of College Democrats to students passing by.
As the College Republicans packed up, several students happily accepted Harris stickers from the opposing booth.
"With Biden as the nominee, it was ... very challenging for us to excite young people for the campaign," said Sam Podnar, co-president of the campus College Democrats.
"I think that we very much wanted a stronger candidate, and we got that. And it has just been a remarkable shift in terms of energy," she said.
Josh Minsky, who leads the College Republicans on campus, admitted to CNN that it has been challenging to motivate his fellow students to support Trump.
"I don't know if that's necessarily achievable, to excite people my age about Trump," said Minsky.
"But I do think it's possible to make people understand that you don't have to like someone to vote for them," he said. "And I think a lot of people fall into that category."
"They're making some noise on one of Pennsylvania's major university campuses, part of a massive college scene – aiming to influence a state where the presidential race is predicted to be incredibly close.
'We've got activities lined up, we've been going door-to-door, managed to hit 1,000 homes last weekend,' Podnar shared.
'Our focus is on amplifying student influence and translating all this excitement into practical, effectual tasks.'"
In the midst of the intense campaigning before the November election, both the Harris and Trump campaigns are making considerable efforts to engage younger voters, recognizing their significant impact on the election outcome.
Despite earlier surveys indicating a shift in support towards Trump among this voting block, recent data has shown that momentum has swung back to the Democrats with Harris as the nominee, with 58% of likely voters aged 18-29 supporting her in a head-to-head race, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll.
