More Gen Z Voters Have Heard a Lot About That 50-Part TikTok Series Than the Alabama IVF Ruling

Sign up to get the latest data and analysis on how business, politics and economics intersect around the world.

Modern America’s fragmented media environment has made it harder than ever for political campaigns and causes to connect with the youngest Americans, a dynamic underscored by a new Morning Consult finding that shows TikTok user Reesa Teesa’s 50-part “Who TF Did I Marry?” series has broken through more with Gen Z voters than the Alabama Supreme Court’s in vitro fertilization decision. 

It’s bad news for Democrats, who are struggling in the polls among young Americans and have looked to capitalize on a news cycle that’s unfolded since Alabama’s high court ruled on Feb. 16 that frozen embryos created through IVF should be considered children.

According to the March 3-4 survey, just 14% of Gen Z voters said they had seen, read or heard “a lot” about the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling — less than the 20% who said the same of Reesa Teesa’s viral TikTok story recounting her gaslit experiences with her ex-husband. 

In fact, more Gen Z voters heard a lot about the TikTok series than 10 of the 11 other news events tested over the weekend, while Reesa Teesa’s work ranked firmly at the bottom of the list for all voters.

The 14% of Gen Z voters who reported hearing a lot about the IVF ruling is also down from 21% the previous week, even as the share of the overall electorate who said they’d heard “a lot” about it increased slightly, from 25% to 27%, placing it near the top of the list.

The IVF ruling’s lack of resonance among the youngest members of the potential 2024 electorate dovetailed with a lack of upward movement on their prioritization of reproduction-related issues such as abortion or health care. This lack of upward movement on issue prioritization was reflected among the broader voting population, including women.

The bottom line

The issue of abortion rights remains elevated relative to where it was on voters’ minds before a draft Supreme Court opinion that would ultimately overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked in May 2022, and it’s an issue where Democrats and President Joe Biden continue to hold a big advantage over Republicans and Donald Trump. 

But the lack of a jolt in voter concern about the matter, particularly among the youngest in the electorate, following the Alabama Supreme Court’s IVF ruling suggests Democrats will need to do more work if they want to energize 2022-style energy on the matter once more.

This is especially true given the splintered media environment that’s helped make a TikTok series more ubiquitous for Gen Z voters than a consequential court decision that recognized the post-Roe fears of reproductive rights advocates.