You may know him as the viral dancing guy from the July 30 Kamala Harris rally, but 22-year-old Parker Short is more than just a meme. In fact, the recent University of Michigan grad is actually one of the up-and-coming voices in Southern U.S. politics. And now with this newfound attention, he’s making sure his voice gets heard.
“It’s been a little overwhelming,” Short tells Her Campus about his virality. “But all my friends are like, ‘Well, Parker, you were the perfect person to do this, because the more [people] look into you, the more they find out you’re just a really big nerd who’s passionate about progressive policy.’”
His friends are right about that. Short currently serves as the president of the Young Democrats of Georgia, an organization built on creating an active interest in governmental affairs among young Georgians, recruiting promising leaders, serving as a voice for the youth of the Democratic Party.
“I’ve been trying to use my bigger platform to draw more members to the Georgia Young Democrats,” Short says. “I’ve been able to raise lots of money and get lots of folks to our convention. The attention has really been helpful to uplift young candidates and youth organizing in Georgia.”
Short is also using the attention he’s gotten from the Harris rally to speak about issues that matter most to him, such as policy like Social Security and reproductive rights as well as the importance of down-ballot voting — and he’s doing it all with passion and enthusiasm.
“Anybody that knows me and knows I’m a real energetic guy,” Short says. “I’m the kind of guy that will get real happy, real loud. If I’m at a party, I will grab a microphone. I’ll be like, ‘Hey everybody, are y’all registered to vote?’”
Below, Her Campus chats with Short about his newfound fame, how he first got involved in politics, and his thoughts on the upcoming election.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Let’s start at the rally that made you famous. What were the vibes like that day?
The energy was just amazing. I’ve seen people I’ve known through decades of organizing and people who have dedicated their lives to this fight, and everyone there had a smile on their face and was filled with passion, excitement, and joy.
A lot of the commentary around that rally was, “Oh, they had to get Megan Thee Stallion there to have people come or they have to play this [style of] music.” But the truth is, the energy was there, no matter what musical performance we had, because we’ve got the most exciting thing that anybody could ever ask for, and that’s the next president of the United States, Kamala Harris.
How did you first get involved with politics?
I got involved in politics when I was 15, but I got interested when I was a little kid. I lost my dad when I was 4 to cancer, and his labor union saved my family from medical debt. I received Social Security every month — and I knew what Social Security was because the day that we got Social Security, that was the day that we could go to the grocery store, and that’s important for every American family. FDR did that in the 1930s because our economy wasn’t working for everyone. And still today, our economy is not working for everyone.
It’s frustrating when you know that something should and could be better, but it’s not. My mom told me what was right and what was wrong, and when I see something that’s wrong, [I] do something about it. If you don’t, you’re just as wrong as the person doing it, because you’re telling them that it’s OK. So I’ve been taught to stand up for what’s right and to fight.
How did you become president of the Georgia Young Democrats?
I’ve been involved in this organization since I was 15. I never intended to be president. My buddy, Bryce Berry, the teacher who’s currently running for State House, ran for president and he asked me to run as his vice president. He is one of my best friends and I was happy to be a part of his team. When he decided to run for State House, he told me he’d have to resign and asked if I could step up. I love the work, I love the organizing, and I’ve just been trying to invest back in these other people as they invest in me.
Did your time at the University of Michigan influence your political career in any way?
If anything, it helped me see how politics worked in a different state where Democrats were in control. I got to work for the labor unions up there. They’re a whole lot stronger. Honestly, I missed Georgia the whole time I was at the University of Michigan, but it gave me a bunch of great ideas that I love to tell people about. Michigan has ballot initiatives, so they’re able to vote on things statewide and adjust their constitution or set policy through a statewide vote. And through their statewide ballot initiatives, they were able to end gerrymandering, expand abortion rights, expand voting rights, and legalize marijuana. Georgia does not have ballot measures. That’s something that I think we should have and is a fundamentally strong piece of our democracy, and I love telling people about that.
You’re attending Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy this fall. What are your plans following That?
I want to be involved in Georgia policymaking for the rest of my life, and I hope to make the state more progressive and equitable. I never want to live anywhere else but Georgia. I got into a couple of different public policy schools, but I chose Duke because it was super close to home.
I want to get a public policy degree [to] really understand how to make great public policy, and then use my education to hopefully help a Democratic governor of Georgia [get] elected in two years.
Do you see a future where traditionally red Southern states go blue?
I love this question. I’ve never been embarrassed to be from Georgia, and I don’t think it’s embarrassing to be from the South. I think it’s embarrassing to give up on a fight for better. For me, Georgia is the birth of the Civil Rights Movement and Jimmy Carter. I’m never going to throw my hands up and walk away. But you know what? I truly believe Democrats have a path to victory in the South. The future of the South is blue.
The truth is that it’s systemic barriers trying to stop people from voting. Former Georgia State Rep. Stacey Abrams registered more than [800,000] people to vote, and her work allowed [Senators Jon] Ossoff and [Senator Raphael] Warnock to win that race. She’s been putting in that work for years, and I know that people are putting in that work all around the South. There are always people fighting to make things better, and whether that’s in the state legislature or in the county commission office. I’m constantly given hope by other people doing this work.
You previously Endorsed Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear for Harris’s VP Pick. So how Do You Feel about Tim Walz now that he’s the official running mate?
I love Tim. I’m a union man, and Andy Beshear is a good union man, so of course I would’ve loved to see him on the ticket. But Tim Waltz is an amazing candidate with an amazing record. I mean, oh my God, how terrible is it that you’re giving kids school lunches? And he always says, “One man’s socialism is another man’s neighborliness.” I’ve been saying it every day. There’s been so many amazing things that he’s been able to accomplish, and I think it speaks to the vision that Vice President Harris has for this country. I was impressed and surprised by the choice, and although I’m a well-documented Beshear Bro, I very much wanted Tim Walz to be the pick, and I was over the moon. I was truly over the moon.
What are some ways college students can get involved?
I always recommend, of course, as a Young Democrats chair, to go to your Young Democrats chapter and go to your college Democrats chapter. But I will say how I got involved and how I learned so much: When I was 15, I showed up to my DeKalb County Democratic Party meeting and all the old ladies there were so happy to see me. They pinched me on the cheek and they took me under their wings and they taught me everything they knew. And they’ve been my biggest supporters in the party. I find that the age divide is something people talk about a lot, but a lot of the support I’ve had has been from people who have been in the party forever. Politics isn’t easy. It’s not made to be easy. But once you show up in that room, a lot of people are going to be happy to see you.
How do you stay so positive and energetic about politics?
It’s daunting and it’s easy to get cynical, I’m not going to lie. But I’ve never lost the energy and I’ve never lost the hope. I’ve been singing the same song since I was 15, and after a while, you start to get the rhythm. It’s the best work I’ve ever done. You don’t do politics just to win, you do good politics to get good policy. It’s been amazing having worked on these local elections, I can now call my elected officials and be like, “Hey, this is how I feel about this.” And they know me. That’s what I think being an engaged citizen looks like, and it’s what civic responsibility looks like. I just try to do the best for my community, because I feel like America has invested in me by allowing me to go to college debt-free, by allowing me Social Security and healthcare. So, I want to invest back in America.