Volunteering for a candidate
 

Has anyone ever volunteered for a political candidate's campaign? Have you ever had weird canvassing stories to tell? I was canvassing for a candidate this afternoon in a so-called "swing" area. I was yelled at by someone at one house....actually almost biting is more like it. The man looked like he was practically going to grab me and shake me for "bothering him" with information from the party. Later on, I saw a woman actually yelling at the candidate, telling her how awful the party she is running for is. I've done this before, and I don't think I've ever encountered people this harsh in person. I have had a few nasty people on the phone though.

I think this is actually a pretty common occurrance for anyone going door to door or calling people trying to convince them to buy/vote for something. I volunteered for the McCain campaign but never really did much since he dropped out of the race.

I wanted to volunteer a couple years ago. I was unfortunately working for the campus TV news station (anchor/reporter) so the prof in charge of the program nixed that idea.

The campaign I wanted to support didn't even make it out of the primaries though..

i haven't before, but i plan on it this year. :D anyone with any advise?

Re: Volunteering for a candidate
 

I've volunteered for Barack Obama, currently running for Senator of Illinois. My stepdad and I were going around the neighborhood giving people signs to put on their lawns. My stepdad goes up this young man and begins to talk him about Obama and when my stepdad goes to give him a sign he says "oh I don't live around here":confused: But you live in Illinois so what's the problem?

P.S. if Obama wins he will be the 3rd African American to hold a seat in the U.S. Senate.

I've worked on several campaigns (state assembly, gubernatorial, and a failed presidential one) and I'm looking forward to volunteering this summer.

Re: Re: Volunteering for a candidate
 

Mr. Obama's also making headlines here in Hawaii, his birth state and boyhood home. He's definitely one of Punahou School's most distinguished alums.

Many of us here are hoping that he pulls a victory in Illinois! :)

To answer the original question, I've volunteered in two gubernatorial campaigns and will be volunteering again for a high school classmate running for a House seat in the state Legislature. I don't like going door to door, however. You can find me pushing the paper at campaign HQ.

I volunteered with the PC candidate in my riding back in 1999. It was an asignment for my OAC politics class, but I enjoyed my experience.

I did a little bit of Canvassing and a little bit of phone work. I even monitored at a polling station (I had to check off peoples names off a list as they came into vote and I was there to ensure that the ballots were counted properly).

I rememer going to one house where the told me that they would be supporting my candidate but because so many teachers lived in their area that they were unable to put up a sign because they were afraind of upsetting the neighbours (big NDP street).

I also had one guy try to pick me up when I called him asking for his support. I had a few people yell at me, severl people hung up on me. But hey, it's their karma, not mine. Overall it was a good experience and if I had time I would do it again.

I've worked on a Congressional campaign doing office work, and done some really menial stuff for local elections when I lived with my parents (mainly making copies and boring stuff, but a little bit of phone canvassing)

I'm hoping to get involved with the presidential campaign, but honestly don't know where to get started as the other opportunities sort of fell in my lap :)

Yes, in 2000, as an intern, I was sent to Baltimore for GTVO (Get the vote out) work...

The scheduling department made an error while making our reservations. Turns out, they put us in a hotel KNOWN in Towson for drug activity. After seeing a drug deal go down between a guy and the hotel desk clerk, I was seriously scared, because the guy had a gun in full view... (The desk clerk knew what room I was in and had the key code to get in if she wanted...)

We called the campaign and told them what happened. They called the Towson police and discussed the situation. When the police found out what had happened, they gave us a full police escort to another hotel in a better part of Baltimore. It only took 5 minutes from the time we hung up with the campaign until the cops got there...

That's the best story I have...

Did some neighborhood work for a local candidate, and may end up getting involved in the Bush campaign effort. Not sure yet though.

You're in Massachusetts, so why?

Haha...not all of us here are Kerry fans.

I won't get into all the reasons, but basically I'd like to see Bush re-elected.

Me too.. but with the electoral college and everything.. well does Bush have a prayer in Mass?

They elect senators like Ted Kennedy and John Kerry.. I guess you must like a challenge:D

Yeah, it would be almost impossible for Bush to win the state; but I'd like to say I helped in the campaign of my favorite candidate. Anything you can do helps the way I figure.

I'm a big fan of the campaign atmosphere as well, even if it's in a state like MA.

I working on a campaign for someone running for the State House here in Colorado....the only advice I can give is to DO IT. If you've never done it before, the committee can find out what strengths you bring, and help you use those strengths for the candidate - whether it be phones, mailings, walking, etc....all of it is important (my function has been speechwriting and other communications functions).

It will be an education unlike any you'll ever get in school!

Also, if you are representing a candidate who is not of the "popular" party in your area (picture Pat Buchanan running for an office in Massachusetts.....) also be willing to develop a tough skin, and have your messages memorized well - stick to the issues and the messages, and avoid the personal attacks that WILL occur...just apologize for disturbing someone and move on.

I can attest to that; polling for a largely unpopular candidate can be a real experience. You'll hear old ladies say things that you didn't think was in their vocabularies.

You'll get people like that no matter what candidate you work for.
Someone will not like your candidate and treat you like crap.
I'm not one for a having a very thick skin but I managed to get through the campaign without yelling at anyone on the phone.
People will be mean to you. Expect it. But don't worry too much about it. It's their karma, not yours.

True that. I had an old man ask me if my father was proud that I was a slut. I just said "Sorry to bother you" and trotted off down the sidewalk.

Update: I did some phone canvassing this afternoon and got through to a crazy woman who didn't sound too happy that I called. When I asked her if she'd be supporting the candidate, she was like "EWWW, NOOOO WAAAAYYY!! The man (the leader of the party) is a jerk, and it's just GROSS if I supported your candidate." She went on to say some things that I wouldn't mention on the board. I was very upset, and was slightly rude to her (though not as rude as she was to me), saying something long the lines of how her attitude wasn't very nice. She really should have just said "I'm sorry, but I'm not supporting the party's views this time."