New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Parkland, Florida shooting survivor David Hogg Thursday announced a new partnership, "Mayors For Our Lives," that joins student activists and the nation's mayors formed in hopes of getting younger voters more engaged in upcoming elections.
"We’re announcing a campaign that is bipartisan, it’s Republicans and Democrats to register a new generation of voters," Hogg told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "Right now we have over 50 voters and 25 states, including D.C., in terms of merits."
De Blasio told the program that "profound" change is occurring nationwide, and progressive candidates are winning primary elections that they weren't expected to win.
"You can see that when the progressive candidate does get the Democratic nomination, the kind of energy it can create... including younger voters, who we must get involved," the Democratic mayor said. "That's a bipartisan statement but I’ll speak as a progressive and as a Democrat, younger voters are going to be the difference makers."
Mayors For Our Lives includes more than 50 mayors, united in the concept of reaching younger voters, including high school students getting ready to vote, de Blasio added.
"When it comes to gun safety, what I hear from younger voters is uncompromising," said de Blasio. "They believe it’s a matter of life and death and they’re right. And what David and his colleagues have done, has changed American politics and awoken a different sleeping giant which is, younger voters."
Hogg said the matter of gun control is not a Democratic or Republican issue, but an American one.
The youth vote also led to Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum's surprise win as the Democratic nominee for Senate, said Hogg.
"We had a Florida team going across Florida to every congressional district, all 27 in Florida, throughout the summer registering thousands of new voters," he said.