After the arduous 2024 election, Democrats were forced to do some soul searching. One of the primary takeaways is that party leadership is, quite frankly, too damn old.
A new class of political leaders are gathering their forces and preparing to upend the gerontocracy. In North Carolina, 27-year-old Anderson Clayton, chair of the statewide Democratic Party, has been hard at work cultivating enough resources to prop up a Democratic candidate in every open seat in the state. Nationally, David Hogg, the 25-year-old vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, recently made waves within the party by stating his intention to support primary candidates in a number of upcoming elections.
Durham may soon have its own youth movement. Emerson Kirby, a Durham native, got involved in local politics at a young age, volunteering on campaigns and with different nonprofits. Last year, she graduated from Duke University with a bachelor’s degree in public policy. During her junior year at Duke, Kirby was elected third vice chair of the Durham Democrats where she served for two years until April, when she rose to the top chair position.
Even though Kirby is still a young operative, she comes to the position with experience and a sense of personal responsibility to represent other young residents whose voices aren’t being heard. Her responses are polished and her delivery fits a job that requires practiced communication and the ability to persuade voters that your agenda will give them the best outcomes.
We spoke with Kirby on the heels of her new appointment as chair of the Durham County Democratic Party to find out what her plans are to capture disaffected voters, how to bring new energy to the party at the local and state level, and why Democrats need to sharpen their message and move away from being just the party of “anti-Trump.”
INDY: How did you get involved with the local Democratic party?
Kirby: I was born and raised in Durham and really care about the community here. I started getting involved in local politics when I was in high school. I was a youth leader for Kids Voting Durham and a participant in the Durham participatory budgeting initiative. And I have some family members who have run for office in other parts of North Carolina. So I became very interested in how I could participate more deeply in my own Durham community. I found out that there was the upcoming County Convention in early 2023 and saw an opening for the third vice chair position. I’ve been doing social media communications and website stuff for a small business here in Durham for quite a while, and some other social media stuff on the side. The third vice chair role is social media and communication, so I thought that would be a perfect way for me to deepen my involvement in the Durham community and Durham politics.
What other things are the Durham Democrats doing locally for the party besides voter registration?
So we do what we call precinct organizing. Precincts are kind of the basis of the party. We have 59 here in Durham. And when you organize a precinct, which is basically a neighborhood, you’re able to have a precinct chair, vice chair and secretary that’s represented in the Durham Democrats. Those precinct chairs go out in their neighborhood, build community, and get people involved. That is one of the main ways that we build community here in Durham. We hold community events, host candidate forums when municipal elections come up, and provide resources to our precincts to help them build up community in their neighborhoods.
How much of your organizing is focused on local government compared to state and federal?
We’re very focused on our county in particular, and how we can best serve the needs of our county and the wants of the people in Durham. But because of some of the more tumultuous things that are going on at the state level, we’ve been getting more involved; canvassing and advocating, especially for Justice Allison Riggs and her seat on the [State] Supreme Court, because that’s a statewide issue, and every county needs to be involved in making sure that she wins that election, so that there’s not a precedent sent set for other elections to fall through the cracks and be overturned.
Durham is such a homogeneous voting block for state and federal elections, and most of our local elected officials are Democrats, so how much are the Durham Democrats involved in local races, given the amount of homogeneity?
Yeah, that’s a great question. So we mostly do get out the vote initiatives. When it comes to municipal elections, we don’t usually make endorsements because we’re such a blue stronghold and they’re all typically Democratic candidates, but because people are less engaged in some of the municipal elections, we push really hard to do voter registration and get people excited to go vote for the people that are actually going to be making decisions about their community.
Democrats are upset about how the party handled the transition from Biden to Harris and the outcome of the election. And Republicans are mad about a lot of the choices that folks in power have made around cutting certain programs, and tariffs, etc. So I’m wondering how you all are thinking about trying to tap into that frustration and grab those folks who are becoming more apathetic and re-engage voters who may be turned off as we move into the midterms in 2026?
Yeah, I agree with you, there’s kind of two sides of the spectrum. There’s people who are energized and excited to do things, and then there’s people who feel the opposite, and they are tired of politics and tired of the Democrats and the Republicans and hearing about them. On a national level and on a local level, Democrats need to show who we are. We need to show our value to people, what we believe in and how we can support our communities and make sure that people know that we aren’t just asking for money and votes. We’re not just knocking on doors every four years, and we’re not just the party of anti-Trump. We are a party that cares about people, that has deep, deep values and wants to listen to people year-round. Because how can we ask people to serve us if we don’t serve them? And so I think, on a local level, that shows up as having community events all across the county, partnering with different local organizations so that we can meet people where they are, and having community service events like book drives and food drives, and providing that value and service to people, which in turn, lets people know our beliefs and what we care about.
You just recently graduated from Duke and are bringing young energy to the Durham Dems. You’ve got Wesley Knott in Wake County, who’s in his last twenties and just took over the chair position for the Democratic Party there. Anderson Clayton, the head of the state Democratic Party is 27, so there’s a lot of young leadership grabbing hold of the reins within the Democratic apparatus here in the state. What do you think it says about where the Democratic Party is and where it needs to go, or where it’s trying to go, given that so many young people are saying, “hey, maybe it’s our turn now to try to steer the ship.”
Yeah, that’s a great question. I think nationally, we’re seeing some frustration with the leadership of Democrats and how a lot of those leaders are a little bit older than the median age in the United States. And young people don’t necessarily feel like they’re being represented by these leaders, especially some of the leaders who aren’t taking a harsh stance against some of the unconstitutional actions that we’re seeing on a national level and on a state level. I’m really excited to prove that young people do have the ability to lead and to serve. I feel very honored to serve in this role. Here in Durham specifically, we’re seeing a huge influx of younger people moving into the city and into the county. And so I feel like I, to an extent, represent a large chunk of who Durham is continuing to grow into. And so it’s my goal to partner with the people that have been in politics for a long time, not cancel them out of the conversation, but just be a voice in the larger room, to be part of this rich history of Democratic leadership in Durham.
I know you spent some time volunteering with different political groups. You studied public policy at Duke, but, frankly, you don’t have a ton of experience in the space compared to some of your older peers. So what new ideas are you trying to bring to the position that you think will be really valuable to the Dems, both here in Durham and regionally?
There’s kind of a lack of a coherent message that’s not just anti-Trump, and it’s important to show people in the county, in the state, and across the country who we are and what we believe in and how we can support our communities. So I feel that my experience in communications and messaging helps me understand how to connect with people, especially online, which is becoming one of the biggest ways that people get their information and connect with others. And although I’m young, I have been on the leadership team of the Durham Democrats for the past couple of years, so I feel that I have a pretty solid understanding of where we can go, what we can do better, what our strengths are and what our weaknesses are, and how we can improve to make sure that we’re getting out the vote for the municipal elections.
You mentioned that the part of the challenge is creating messaging that’s not just anti-Trump. What is the Democratic Party doing well, and how do you illuminate those successes for folks who maybe aren’t as plugged in, particularly for folks who maybe aren’t online and aren’t following the news as much so that they’re aware when they go to the ballot box the next time around?
We’ve been having a lot of local protests all across the state and nationally as well, like the Hands Off protests and No Kings protest. That’s a great way to get out into the streets and inform people about what’s going on, even if they may not be online. So I think that even though we need to do more talking about what we believe in as Democrats, we are doing a much better job than we were before of informing people about how exactly Trump is harming the economy and doing corrupt things and going directly against the Supreme Court and deporting people without due process. People are starting to realize and be informed of these things and get even more involved. We’re seeing a growth in not necessarily just the Democratic Party, but of people who don’t want to see this in the leadership of our country.
What are your own political ambitions? I know this chair position is very fresh, but do you see yourself running for office in the future?
I’m not sure yet. I am really focused on the now, but I really don’t have super high political goals that I’m thinking about at the moment. I’m thinking less about my political career and more about how I can serve the people of Durham. At some point I may go to law school, but I’m not at all thinking about running for office right now. I’m thinking about what I can best do in this role to make the biggest difference in Durham.
That’s what a savvy politician would say. Good answer.
Follow Reporter Justin Laidlaw on X or send an email to [email protected]. Comment on this story at [email protected].