Candidates as individuals, not celebrities

By: Victoria Egan

The past two days have been a complete whirlwind, to say the least. Yesterday a group of us headed to Newton, Iowa to see Bernie Sanders speak at an elementary school. Going into this event I was excited to see the excitement of Bernie Sanders and the energy of a Bernie rally. When we got there, I was given the opportunity to sit in the seats behind the Senator. This was a unique experience because although I did not get to see Bernie’s face as he spoke, I was able to see the audience’s reactions. This morning we all headed out to Marshalltown, Iowa and packed in a very small elementary school gymnasium. The energy that I experienced in this room was incredible and Warren connected with her audience in a way that none of the other candidates I have heard speak have.

It is interesting to compare the different atmospheres of the three rallies. At Bernie, it did feel a lot like he was yelling at the audience about all of the wrongs that need to be fixed whereas Warren seemed to be rallying her audience more about what her administration’s plans were. Warren was addressing similar issues as Bernie but did so in a way that included the voters. She discussed her policy positions based on voter questions whereas Bernie just listed them off. Meanwhile, at Buttigieg, he focused on reuniting the nation in America after the current administration.

Aside from the differences in how the events were formatted, the biggest thing that I have taken out of the three rallies I have attended over the past two days is just how different the candidates are in person. We always see them on TV and they seem like such a foreign figure, an individual one can only dream of meeting or seeing in the flesh. However, in Iowa, they are simply just another human. Seeing these candidates is such a common occurrence for Iowans that when Castro walked into a Mexican restaurant we were in today, the locals didn’t flinch. A woman at the Elizabeth Warren campaign today that I spoke to said having the candidates ten feet away from them does not faze Iowans as much and the candidates are not as much of a celebrity to Iowans as they are to someone like me from the tiny state of Rhode Island. Although at the Pete Buttigieg town hall he was on a stage and the voters were standing, he was still connecting and engaging with the audience by directly addressing the individuals who’s questions were chosen. Additionally, there were several people who when waiting to take a picture with Pete after he spoke allowed others through as they had already met him. As someone from a state who never gets visits from presidential candidates, this was such a unique experience. These past two days I have seen political figures I only ever see on TV standing in the flesh ten feet away from me and they are experiences I will never forget and never take for granted.