By: Mackenzie Ferguson

Seeing a political figure in person rather than on television is a weird mix of awe, comparison, and awareness. Today we went to see Elizabeth Warren and Julián Castro in Marshalltown, Iowa. Going into the rally I was expecting Warren to be unrelatable and to feel rehearsed, based on the previous candidates that we have heard speak, however, I was shocked by the weight and presence of Warren’s personality in person compared to on television. Warren throughout the rally remained personable, energetic, and held a certain passion in her voice that helped to excite the crowd around her ideas. After a short introduction into her background, she preceded to take questions from random audience members in the crowd and was able to weave her policy stances into each unplanned question with grace and of course more enthusiasm. Once the rally was over, Warren and Castro had a “selfie line” in which the audience members were able to take a photo with the candidate and be able to meet her in person, which made her more personable and seemed to make her seem like an actual human rather than a political television character. Castro himself also made himself seem personable, as he greeted us and talked to us when we ran into him at a Mexican restaurant after the rally.

In comparison to the Warren rally that we attended, yesterday we attended a Bernie Sanders rally in Newton, Iowa. The energy and the mood around the Bernie rally seemed extremely different compared to the Warren rally. Bernie himself was his usual hunched over version that you see on the television, however, he seemed older, more tired, and more fragile in person than he does on the television screen. Sanders seemed to shuffle around the rally stage and seemed to rehearse a speech that he has done several times with little enthusiasm and energy put into his speech. I was sitting behind Bernie Sanders at his rally and I still had a hard time paying attention to his monotone speech. The crowd was also not as excited by Bernie as they were at the Warren rally and Bernie himself seemed less personable. At the end of the rally, Bernie rushed away, presumably to another campaign event, but he was not able to spend time with those who had attended his rally. After all of this, Bernie seemed to remain as a television character to me: not personable, rehearsed, fragile, and unenergetic.

Comparing these two candidates and their rallies shows the difference in personalities that the candidates possess, as well as the difference in strategies that the campaigns are taking in order to try to win the Democrat nomination. While I had previously mentioned in my past blog post that I was unsure of the political engagement of the citizens of Iowa, these rallies have helped to show me the dedication of the Iowa citizens who attend several rallies to hear and choose between which candidate is best for them. The excitement for these candidates is shown by the citizens during the rallies, and I wish that every state had the same opportunities to engage with the candidates in the same manor that Iowa citizens get to. There is a difference between the television version of the candidates and seeing the candidates themselves, and this difference has helped me to make a decision that several Americans will be facing as the upcoming caucuses and primaries approach.

By: Katie Zimmermann

I have spent the past few days calling Iowans on behalf of Senator Cory Booker. As I engaged with our nation’s first voters I asked people over and over again: “What issues are most important to you?” In nearly every discussion, constituents reiterated that their top priority is to get President Donald Trump out of office. I was surprised by this and had expected people to focus on the significance of healthcare, taxes, or national security to them.

Democratic candidates vying for Iowans’ support have reflected these sentiments in their town halls. Today I attended events for Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Secretary Julian Castro introduced Warren. In his speech, he emphasised that Warren is the most liked out of the top three candidates that are currently leading in the polls. Castro stated that 25% of voters said they would be upset if Senator Bernie Sanders or Buttigieg are the Democratic Party Nominee. He explained that, because of this, Warren will attract more constituents to the polls and be the Democrat’s best chance at beating Trump in November. Similarly, in the beginning of his speech, Buttigieg said that one day the sun will rise over Iowa and Trump will no longer be the president of the United States. 

It was great to be able to come to Des Moines and learn from Iowans themselves about what is important to them. Furthermore, while I had not recognized most voters’ top issue, Warren and Buttigieg made it evident that they are well aware and actively working to prove their electability. I am eager to attend more candidates’ events to see how they address this prominent issue.

By: Hana Hofeld

I sit in my hotel room barely able to keep my eyes open to write this after the exhausting but enthralling once in a lifetime experience I had today. This morning my eyes teared up as I watched Senator Elizabeth Warren walk out into the audience of the Fisher middle school gym in Marshalltown, Iowa. I wasn’t really sure why, but I had tears in my eyes as she came out. Maybe it was because I was seeing this ever so inspiring woman for the first time in person or maybe I was just overwhelmed with excitement in the reality that she was 4 feet away from me. Either way it was an important feeling to note.

I chose to take the journalism route on this trip for a few reasons. One being that I wanted to try something new. I wanted something that would be a challenge and also a great learning experience. And two, I had no strong preferences over which candidate I would have wanted to work for. In the five days that we have been on the ground here in Iowa, I can say that deciding to do this trip in the eyes of a journalist was the best decision I could have made. I have seen the candidates from a different light and working as “student media” has allowed me front row access to every candidate we have seen so far, not to mention meeting and taking some sort of photo with all of them.

In the past few days I have had the privilege of seeing Marianne Williamson (the night before she dropped out), Bill Weld, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Julian Castro, and Elizabeth Warren. We still have quite a few more to see but after today, I can fully say from what I’ve seen so far, is that Senator Elizabeth Warren has my heart. I say this for a lot of reasons. For one, I have always been a fan of hers. Junior year of high school I wrote a research paper discussing the courageous act she took of reading the Correta Scott King’s letter aloud on the Senate floor; this caused a lot of backlash but yet she persisted to do what was right. Another reason I like Warren is that she achieved her lifelong goal of wanting to be a public school teacher. It’s not often you find someone in government who was a teacher before making policies that affect teachers hands on. Warren knows the difficulties of what it’s like to be in the classroom every single day. This issue hits close to home for me because my mom is a teacher in the Chicago Public School system so for me electing a president with a good education plan is extremely important. 
Warren has avid plans for college students and criminal justice reform, both issues I’m passionate about. The energy she brought today was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Everytime she made a point she’d raise her hand in a power fist motion and jump up and down. The 70 year old has the energy and excitement of a 40 year old. Not only is she full of passion, but she is extremely relatable. She started her speech by telling her story. She made a joke about how she had been married twice, she told us about her teaching story, law school, and so on. Today was a transformative experience for me in that I got to see Elizabeth as a real human being. She was so genuine and authentic, which are often things you don’t get to see of presidential candidates since everything is so televised. I am very interested to see how I will feel later in the week after seeing Biden, Yang, Booker, and Buttigieg. In the words of Warren today, “we have the chance now in 2020.” This statement is powerful, the time is now and this is the time where we have the chance to change the direction this country is going.

By: Lindsay Carter

The last time I was on national TV, my crazed eyes appeared on ESPN in front of a Pickle Rick cutout during Elon’s 50 point loss to the UNC Men’s basketball team. This time, however, I could be seen sitting stone-faced behind Bernie Sanders trying not to become the next meme of the 2020 election. Perhaps I was focusing too hard, but most of Bernie’s points sounded like business as usual stemming all the way back to his 2016 campaign. The crowd was full of die-hard fans who even brought their children along, yet there was a surprising lack of diversity that has put the demographics of Iowa at odds with the stereotypical supporters of the Sanders campaign. While canvassing the past few days, it seemed that many Iowans are somewhere between voting for Sanders and Warren. This makes sense since the two appear very similar at first glance in terms of their policies. However, being able to see both of them in person really helped to distinguish the differences in both policy and personality.

For starters, Elizabeth warren is the most enthusiastic, limber grandma I have ever seen. The constant fist-pumps mixed with the twinkle in her eyes when talking about her plans really portrayed her as an authentic woman who has worked so hard in life to be where she is now. Even the brightly colored and oddly nostalgic elementary school gym helped to give her the vibe of a kind-hearted candidate. Her speech came off as a call to action for voters to help her unite the Democratic Party, rather than a reminder that Donald Trump needs to be defeated. Her energy lasted even through the tough questions and never-ending “selfie line”, which negates nearly any question about her age playing a factor in the race. Even her husband Bruce was accessible for anyone to connect with. By letting her policy plans arise naturally as a part of the audience’s questions, I was able to be more engaged in her responses because it felt like she was speaking directly to the audience.

As similar as they are on policy issues, the Warren and Sanders rallies were in complete opposition of each other. The dull stone floors and empty space at Bernie’s event sums up the atmosphere perfectly. Perhaps it was that Sanders flew through many issues other than healthcare in his speech, or that he looked extremely frail and hunched over, but I was just not feeling the bern. The energy and charisma was simply not there, and the entire experience felt very scripted. He may have had another campaign event, but he still made himself relatively inaccessible to the crowd, which may in-turn make him seem inauthentic, even after leading the latest polls. It will be interesting to see if any voters on the fence between Warren and Sanders make their final decisions based on the candidates live performances.

By Callista DeGraw

I was a junior in high school when Donald Trump was elected. I remember waking up on November 9 feeling completely and utterly defeated, and I wondered how our nation could have chosen a man who only months prior had mocked a disabled reporter and joked about assaulting women. It still baffles me. 

More than anything, I began to notice a change in the country. It’s no coincidence that as it became more acceptable for Trump to say whatever he thought, no matter how offensive, the public became more comfortable saying whatever they thought. Closeted racists, sexists, and homophobes were no longer closeted. The old adage “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” flew right out the window. I got into arguments with people who disagreed with me on very fundamental issues because I couldn’t figure out how to tell people they should just care about other people. 

For me, it comes down to empathy. I value empathy above almost all else, and I was troubled it had seemed to disappear from people’s minds altogether. 

This brings me to 2020, 10 months before I will vote in my first presidential election. Here I am, in Iowa, campaigning for Pete Buttigieg—a presidential candidate I believe in. The reason I bring up empathy is because when I saw Pete speak in New Hampshire this summer, I felt he saw me and heard me. He was able to empathize with the issues people in this country face every day. 

Coincidentally, when my fellow volunteers and I started training to phone bank and canvass, we were encouraged to sell Pete with empathy. Instead of talking to prospective caucus-goers about why Pete is the best for one policy issue or another, we talk to them about our “moment”: a personal reason for why we support him or an example of why a policy idea of his is important to us. I’ve found that people really are more compelled to speak with me when I get personal, when I get real, when I empathize with the things they care about.

But here’s one of my most pressing thoughts: you, too, should be campaigning for and voting for who you believe in. No matter how I feel about the other candidates, I love that so many people, in Iowa and across the country, are passionate enough to go out and say, “I get you, this candidate gets you, and here’s how I know.” In the three days I’ve been volunteering, I’ve found that really is my favorite part of campaigning. 

Regardless of who voters choose to support and regardless of differences in opinions, people who are dedicated enough to spend eight hours making phone calls or brave two-degree weather are doing so because they believe in a better future for the country. Isn’t that future only possible when we care about each other?

By: Ian Weiss

As I grow into an older, more mature person I find that my appreciation for natural beauty grows as well. While Elon looks to be one of the natural beauty hotspots of the world, so is Iowa; A farming state with beautiful open landscapes, carefully made murals, old brick factories and many more eye grabbing pieces of undeniable beauty.

A theme of Iowa, in my mind, is rundown, lowly populated towns. Ottumwa is one of them, and boy, is it one to marvel at. As I rode into town my attention was snatched by a row of dispersedly spaced box like structures with overgrown vines running in and out of the building on one side, while neatly abandoned on the other. Founded in 1843 with a current population of just under 25,000, the city of Ottumwa will keep you thinking, just like a good movie.

The highlight of my time spent in Ottumwa was not the inside look at a five person local news crew, nor was it skimming through Mickey Mouse’s Space Adventure in Antiques and Uniques, but twas the Canteen Lunch in the Alley. A cute box shaped building sitting neatly under a parking garage. Built in 1936, the Canteen is known for their pies, milkshakes and on top of all their “loose meat sandwiches.” That and the warm warm vibe brought on by it’s constituents, and by constituents I mean the nicest ladies aged Mom to Grandma.

While the vat of loose meat scared away the rest of the pack, myself and three other friends stayed to enjoy an authentic Iowa lunch at the Canteen Lunch in the Alley, and boy was it great. The loose meat sandwiches was just good, but the lunch is one that I will hope to hold close as it was one of the many experiences which make life life.

As I ride the bus through Iowa to rally to rally, I am mesmerized by the open pastures and the quaint little homes sitting appropriately next to big red barns. I lightly exhale with a feeling of content that I am just a mere observer of this great big world and there is so much more that I am yet to see.

By Aileen Bell

Canvassing for Elizabeth Warren and attending a Bernie Sanders town hall are two things you would not expect one person to do, let alone over the course of one day, but that’s exactly what I did today. This created one of the most exciting days of my time in Iowa so far. Advocating for Warren in the morning and then seeing Sanders speak later in the day really helped me reflect on the values and policy plans I hold closest to me coming into the 2020 Presidential Primaries.

           We started the day at the house of a proud Warren supporter (and bird owner) ready to spend two hours knocking on as many doors as possible. As we were about to head out, one of the organizers let us know that the group Black Women for Warren was starting their day at this house and would be speaking about their decision to endorse Warren. They said we could either leave or stay, and of course, in an effort to hear from as many different viewpoints as possible, stayed. In my time at Elon, I have used every opportunity presented to me to learn more about the history of minorities within our political system and taken many classes focused on policy solutions geared towards racial equity. While this education has lead me to believe that Elizabeth Warren is the best candidate for minority communities, I have never experienced what any of these inspiring black women have and am not the voice to decide which candidate would be the most beneficial to the black community. Hearing these women talk about Warren’s criminal justice, healthcare, and even predatory lending plans really helped me understand what issues are affecting minority communities and are their main priorities. I hope this will help me have better conversations with voters where I can use the words and beliefs of actual people of color to support my arguments rather than trying to talk in hypotheticals I simply could not understand due to my privilege as a white member of society.

            After a successful canvassing day—it was much more exciting than canvassing day one—we hopped back on the bus to head to Newton for a Bernie Sanders town hall! I voted for Bernie in the Primary in 2016 and was excited to see someone I once wanted as President in the flesh. However, my feelings are different now, and clearly, I’m putting my support behind Elizabeth Warren this time around. This town hall was a really wonderful opportunity to reflect on this decision. It seemed to only reinforce my choice. I am extremely thankful for Bernie making advocacy for progressive change mainstream and building a movement around it, but some of his plans for issues that matter to me could be stronger. I believe that Elizabeth Warren has done exactly that. She’s figured out how to make these plans work in the ways that best benefit the people. A good example of this is when Bernie discussed how he planned to pay for Medicare for All. It requires a tax increase, one I’m personally okay with, but I know the average person might feel strongly against. Warren has figured out how to do this in a way that raises taxes at a lower rate, rather pulling from her wealth tax and lowering our excessive military spending. This plan better aligns with what I believe, and this is only one example of a place I believe Warren’s our girl and Bernie’s not our guy.

            In an effort to keep this blog post short, I will wrap up here. Today was one of the most rewarding days of this trip so far. I am excited for this to continue and the opportunity to see my top choice candidate, Elizabeth Warren, and my last choice candidate, Pete Buttigieg, and continue to have the opportunities to challenge my beliefs or enforce the candidate judgments I’ve made in the upcoming days.

By: Sallie Hardy

At Elon, I study Media Analytics and English Literature. Many people consider this a strange combination because most people either like math or reading, not both…but here I am! Something I have learned about myself is that I am full of contradictions (and I typically try to find contradictions in anything I’m doing… I mean hello?? I am on a Poli-Sci/Journalism trip). In a literature class, this would be discovering Edgar Allan Poe writing about a beautiful blonde girl instead of creepy beating hearts or in a media analytics class noticing when spikes in graphs don’t line up with the debut of a new product. These are the little things I always search for because I believe contradictions make things interesting. 

After spending time on phones and knocking on doors, I’ve found a contradiction I was not expecting. Iowa has a combination of the most politically charged people in the world AND the least politically charged, all in one state. Many Iowans are politically engaged and interested in talking about the different candidates, but there are many who just aren’t. So many Americans look to the Iowa Caucus to help make their decisions about the next presidential nominee, but some of the Iowans I’ve come into contact with don’t even know who is running. I know this happens everywhere, but given the importance of the Iowa caucus, this was surprising…to say the least.

On my first day of volunteering, my canvassing buddy and I were dropped off in a neighborhood made up of mobile homes, RVs, and very few democrats. Although Iowans are thought to be some of  the nicest people in the world, they also know exactly how to make canvassers feel unwelcomed. We ran into many situations where we were literally blocked from doors either with benches or bird cages, and some would have their storm door handles or doorbells removed. We even watched one woman tell her dogs to bark at us while she laughed through the window. 

At the doors we finally had “success” with, I was shocked by how many people were willing to settle on a candidate without asking any questions. We talked to many people who had clearly made up their minds and had reason to do so, but some people seemed to want to ignore facts about candidates. We walked up to a door of a blue mobile home decorated with a screen porch and a rusty car. We knocked on the door and waited a while, and finally a large man stepped through the doorway to speak with us. We had barely gotten through the typical volunteer spiel when he started lecturing us about how he just wants our current president out of office. We attempted to explain that we fully agreed and tried to steer the conversation back to Buttigieg. This man was not going to have it. He told us he didn’t mind Pete, and he truly didn’t have much of an opinion on him because his favorite candidate was… Ray. Ray? Neither of us had ever heard of a Ray running. The man said that “Ray” was richer than Trump and had recently joined the race. I guessed Michael Bloomberg, but that is apparently not Ray. After pulling up the official list of candidates and much more discussion, we finally learned that he was talking about Tom Steyer the entire time. 

Almost all six of the volunteers for Buttigieg from Elon have experienced a similar phenomenon. People here understand how important their opinion is but sometimes don’t want to validate it with facts. It’s either that, or they’re tired of everyone in the world knocking on their doors. Maybe it’s a little of both!

By: Ashlyn DeLoughy

I walk into a public school about 15 minutes from our hotel in Des Moines with my backpack and tripod in hand. As we (the team of journalists I was with) walked down the school hallways, we were quickly greeted by two women at the check in. They were eager to see us arrive and to hear our stories. We begin to set up our cameras and mingle with the directors of the event. It’s not until I sit down with my notebook that I realize where I actually am. 

A passionate musician plays the keyboard on the left side of what is a “mini riser” type of set up. There are five stools in the center and a bright blue and orange backdrop that reads, “Faith. Hope. Love. I will vote Common Good! A change for election day.” 

The audience chatters amongst themselves. An older woman knits a green scarf while a mother and her elementary-school aged son take their seat in the back row. Quickly, the whole audience joins in on the musician’s singing. People are clapping and nodding their heads to the beat of the music. Smiles are everywhere. And then as the music comes to an end, enters Doug, one of the directors of the event. He leaps in the center of the stage and welcomes everyone to the Faith, Politics and Common Good forum featuring both Bill Weld and Marianne Williamson. 

There were a lot of different conversations at this event and because of that at times I felt so lost, yet so fascinated. This was like something I’ve never experienced before and it informed me so much about a demographic that is not often talked about at all: faith voters. 

After attending this event, I realized that this group of voters feels trapped between what they know about their own political parties and what they believe about the world around them. It’s inspiring to see a group of people hold their personal values and beliefs so close to them, yet sad to see them feel disconnected with the root of our American government. 

The whole atmosphere was so intriguing, but perhaps the highlight of my night was being able to actually talk to Marianne Williamson at the end of the event and get the last interview with her before she announced her suspension of her presidential campaign. 

After being in the room during the event, I felt that so many people were exhausted with everything that’s been going on in modern day politics. With that, I wanted to know where Marianne’s head was in regards to her campaign. I wanted to know if she felt so defeated at this point too, especially with the caucus just days away. 

So I asked, “What keeps you going in the race?” 

And she responded, “”I’m in the race to the extent to which I wake up in the morning and my heart tells me I’m in the race.” 

I can only help, but wonder if Williamson woke up this morning thinking about the student journalist who asked her what her motivation was and she realized that maybe it just wasn’t there anymore.