Young Play Key Roles In Presidential Campaigns

Campaign staff, volunteers put in long hours for their candidates

Young People Play Key Roles in Presidential Campaigns

Working for a presidential campaign requires lots of time and energy, something America's young people have in abundance.

In the Republican and Democratic parties, much of a candidate's volunteer base is made up of students "who have the time and also the energy to do neighborhood walks and knock on doors and make phone calls," said Jordan Sekulow, who was 22 when he served as national youth director for the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign.

Reaching out to college students, many of them first-time voters, is an opportunity to "engage them in politics and to maximize their efforts and their energy into working for the campaign," Sekulow said. During a more than yearlong effort to engage college students in 2004, the Bush-Cheney campaign signed up about 158,000 new student volunteers.

Some young Americans volunteer for campaigns when they have free time, but others work as full-time staff members. Except top directors, most campaign workers tend to be in their 20s, especially in field offices -- offices other than the national headquarters -- where most of the staff members are recent college graduates, Sekulow said.

In the primary season, campaigns set up field offices in states where an early victory is important, such as Iowa or New Hampshire. During the general election, field offices, usually very small and run by young people, are established across the country.

Josh Alcorn, a regional field director for Democratic candidate Joe Biden's campaign, oversees a three-room storefront office in Waterloo, Iowa, at age 26. The other full-time staff member is a 21-year-old college student who is taking a break from school.

Alcorn meets with local officials to build support for the Delaware senator. When Biden is in town, Alcorn arranges events at which Biden can meet potential caucus-goers in coffee shops and other venues.

Another responsibility is working with his campaign volunteers, who tend to be much older than Alcorn. The volunteers come to his office on a regular basis to make phone calls and stuff envelopes with campaign literature. On Tuesday nights they hold a potluck dinner and use the office's phones to call and encourage their neighbors to vote for Biden.

Long Hours On The Road

Working on a presidential campaign means long hours working, talking with voters and networking with supporters. "It's 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the entire campaign," Sekulow said.

Biden campaign workers are told their work hours are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., "but if you're working nine to nine, you are not doing something right," Alcorn said. Usually the hours are longer.

Even before work, Alcorn, who is responsible for six Iowa counties, is reading newspapers. "People here know so much about what is going on. You have to be on top of all the issues nationally and internationally." He starts reading at about 7 or 7:30 a.m., and is usually at work until 10 p.m. Weekends are filled with campaign duties as well.

During the general election, campaign workers crisscross the country. Sekulow spent the final six months of the 2004 campaign traveling to college campuses in battleground states. He would spend two or three days in a state, head back to the national headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, for a few days, then travel again. "Once the campaign really gets in full swing, you are working on the road the entire time."

The busy schedule does not end when the polls open on Election Day. Conference calls and voter outreach continue throughout the day.

"No one is overly confident going into Election Day. Everyone is nervous." Sekulow said. "I think everyone gets the butterflies in your stomach kind of feeling when you wake up and realize that everything you have been working on in the past 18 months comes down to this one day."

Workers on the winning presidential campaign might get a chance to help plan the president-elect's inauguration. "It is a culmination of everything you have gotten to put together," Sekulow said. "It is a great way to re-engage everyone you have worked with and solidify those bonds for the future."

Rewards Include New Skills, New Friends

Campaign workers learn new skills on the job. Alcorn said he learned much about time management and organizing. "People are going to caucus for a candidate because they like the organizer. Being able to sell them on yourself before you sell them on a candidate is crucial," he said.

Working on a campaign is also an opportunity to build strong friendships and meet new people across the country, Sekulow said. He said he built a network of relationships that "are going to last a lifetime."

The 25-year-old now attends law school and works with many from his 2004 campaign network as he serves as a consultant to Republican candidate Mitt Romney's campaign. Sekulow has been organizing events for students and traveling when he can.

"I know this winter break will be a break from school but not a break from the campaign," he said.

ENDS

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