And We’re Off

By Kara Chalifoux

The race to the White House may have began long ago for Presidential Candidates; however, Elon students are fresh off the plane and ready to jump in for the first major competition, the Iowa Caucus.

It is finally setting in that this trip is real. Sure, I’ve been beyond excited to go on this trip, but Iowa felt so distant, watching the candidates on TV felt so distant. Yet in a few short hours, both will be right in front of me and quite honestly I don’t think I’ve fully grasped the gravity of the insight I am going to experience first-hand from the presidential candidates and Iowans themselves. I’ve never even met anyone from Iowa. The Midwest? Certainly. But never someone who has participated in a caucus, let alone lived in this part of the heartland. It will be interesting to contrast what I know Virginia voters value in candidates and policies with those of Iowa.

Interestingly, I have only worked on Republican campaigns, both congressional and gubernatorial. I am excited to see the differences between how parties target and deploy resources to gain support and traction. Further, I am interested to speak to voters. Typically if you represent a candidate that the constituent you are canvassing disagrees with, they are less conversational and don’t seek to offer insight into their reasoning, likely because they are worried I will try to persuade them otherwise. My hope for this trip is that working for a moderate Democrat like Joe Biden will help cultivate mutually beneficial conversations for myself and the Iowans I encounter!

In the weeks leading up to this trip, I have quickly been reminded to not have expectations (other than the fact that it will be cold, I haven’t seen snow since 2018). With a slightly entitled, but mainly just an overeager mindset, I believed that my previous campaign experience would be beyond valuable to the Biden campaign. However, I was humbled, rightfully so, when I found out that I would not get to spend time in the campaign office or helping to run events, like most of my previous experience, and instead be canvassing with the overall mass of volunteers. Perhaps, it is the large-scale aspect of this campaign that is seemingly shell shocking to me but I’ve come to learn that Biden’s campaign is a well-oiled machine and there is no time to make adjustments. Beyond this, there simply can’t be any expectations. The ever-changing campaign schedule mixed with the looming impeachment trial in the Senate has made planning even a draft of events to attend nearly impossible. Nobody knows what is to come in the next few weeks which makes this experience all the more interesting. It isn’t going to simply be defined by strategy out of a campaign book but rather influenced by real-time events that require immediate recognition. 

The Iowa Caucus is unlike anything else, but 2020 is unlike any year. 

Kara Chalifoux