Working to get the hip-hop community prepared to vote in the 2004 presidential election, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) and the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), have joined for the “Two Million More in 2004” campaign. The non partisan campaign was announced September 22nd by the chairman of the HSAN, Russell Simmons and the chairman of the WWE, Vince McMahon in a news conference at the National Press Club.
The goal for this campaign is to register two million more voters from the ages of 18-30 year olds who would be considered part of the 4 million new “Generation E” voters for November 2004. “Both WWE and Hip-Hop appeal to a broad cross-section of young Americans. I can only imagine what the combination of sports entertainment and Hip-Hop will do to attract the interest of younger voters in the 2004 elections now that we have several months in which to reach them,” Vince McMahon said at the press conference. “Who will these young people vote for? I would urge all the political parties and candidates to take the 18-to-30-year-old vote seriously in 2004”. Representing both hip-hop and wrestling, Rev. Run, Honorary Smackdown Your Vote! Co-chair and WWE Superstar Bradshaw, WWE Superstar Maven, Youth Vote Coalition Executive Director Veronica De La Garza, Hip-Hop Summit Action Network President and CEO Benjamin Chavis, and WWE’s Smackdown Your Vote! Executive Director Gary Davis, all stood up for the committee.
Speaking on the expansion of hip-hop in America Russell Simmons said, “Hip-Hop is redefining America, and youth today see themselves as Generation E. Generation E is the generation of empowerment, excellence, and positive energy. We are pleased to join Vince McMahon and the WWE Smackdown Your Vote! to encourage 18-to-30-year-olds to vote.”
