A social media phenomenon is taking place over on TikTok, and it could have huge implications for the 2024 election. 

For the last three-plus weeks, Kamala Harris’ official campaign account has been grabbing the attention of millions of users, posting videos to trending sounds and memes at a rapid pace with a level of sarcasm and humor that feels far more organic than her predecessor. That approach has injected a fresh dose of enthusiasm into the presidential race; it’s making campaign content . . . fun again? 

“It has developed such a personality and such a brand that’s an asset to her, and it’s fun to follow, and it sparks joy,” says V Spehar, the podcaster and creator of the @underthedesknews account, which boasts more than three million TikTok followers. 

Within a week of Harris’ team taking over President Joe Biden’s campaign operations, the team’s TikTok—KamalaHQ, officially—reportedly quintupled in followers. As of Thursday morning, the account has 3.6 million followers and routinely receives millions of views on each post. It has almost 80 million total likes (a figure that includes past Biden content). 

That’s because, according to Spehar, Harris’ campaign is the first to understand parasocial relationships in the TikTok era. “They’re acting as an authentic TikToker,” Spehar tells Fast Company. “They are not acting just as a campaign, which is sort of one-sided.” 

The channel, for example, often reposts other users’ videos. The creators behind the original posts may then go on to create even more content (i.e., “KamalaHQ just reposted me!”), which may in turn prompt yet more users to check out the KamalaHQ’s account. 

The Harris campaign is also playing into the TikTok algorithm. They’re posting videos with trending sounds and have a reliable pace of videos going up. While TikTok’s algorithm is relatively elusive, it’s clear that playing into trends will get you forward.