Flight Day

Today was the day we were leaving New Hampshire. It was a very intensive and fun trip. I loved meeting new people as well as learning what New Hampshire had in its past. The day was very sunny, which was unfortunate because the day before was overcast. The good thing about the morning was that we got to sleep in. We left for the airport a couple of hours before our flight because some people had different flights and they had to turn in the vans with gas. I decided to get lunch at Friendly's, which was surprisingly very good. I had never had actual food from there, and they gave me a good burger with a lot of fries. I went back there to get dessert, which was also delicious. The flight back was close to 3 hours. What shocked me the most was that when we left it was cold and around 40 degrees. Once we landed, it was close to 80 and very humid. That change was nice in the sense that it was familiar, but I do not like the heat too much.

Primary Day

House in Bedford

Another House in Bedford 

Today is the day that many have waited for. The Biden people had to get up around 4 so that we could leave at 5 in the morning. I did not get much sleep, possibly between 4 to 5 hours. When we got to the HQ, we waited for an hour until we were dropped off in the very beautiful neighborhood of Bedford. If I ever move to New Hampshire, I will try my best to go here lol. Although the scenery was beautiful, this was the most difficult spot to canvass along with the downtown Manchester area. Since the houses were so far apart, we had to walk big distances. The overcast weather did not help with the cold, and the hills made it very tiring to travel on foot. Once we finished up canvassing, we ended up going to a Target to get a good breakfast at Starbucks. We were picked up later on and dropped off at the HQ. There, we did a couple hours of phone-banking. As the day was turning dark, one of the supervisors took us to Nashua so that we could do our last canvass in a neighborhood. By time the polls closed, we were taken to the Radisson as part of an afterparty as we watched the polls come in. Biden could not be there because he wanted to focus on South Carolina and Nevada, as he knew he had to because those are the states he has good ground in. As it turns out, he was correct. he placed 5th in number of delegates received. It was a good party, and we said goodbye to many friends we made. They were very grateful for the time spent there. I was extremely tired, so once I got to the hotel I immediately went to sleep.

Jill, Hannity, and Joe!

Dr. Jill Biden

Sean Hannity

2nd Biden Selfie

Woah. What a way to spend my birthday. First, we went to the second Biden HQ in Manchester and there we were expecting a visit from Dr. Jill Biden. She came in and gave us a pep-talk on the importance of volunteer work. She has done some amazing work on the public school system. I wish I had more time to talk to her because I come from a family of public school educators. Once she left, we went canvassing again until it was time to go to the Biden event at the Greek Orthodox church in Manchester. We got to the church and went to work pretty quickly. Our job was to get a head count of the people coming in as well as to make space for people with physical needs to sit in a designated area. While all of this was happening, Sean Hannity from Fox News shows up and starts interviewing people. No one knew he was going to be here, so it was a surprise for everyone. He asked some pretty fabricated questions that was not pleasant to hear. I would later go on to see his program because someone had told me I was on Fox in the background. Not only was I not able to find where I was, but I had to listen to a very biased news program about the event that I can tell you was very different from what actually happened. Once Biden got there, a protester started yelling that Biden touches women and children. I was disappointed that he came here to do that, and I was surprised that Jill shot up and went to the protester. He was eventually escorted out of the building, and Biden gave a passionate speech on the need to restore the soul of this nation. I went with Fallia to the Biden line and we both got selfies with him. I wish I could thank him for his work on cancer research, but there were so many people that his group kept pushing him down the line. I was very happy I got to see him on my birthday.

Canvass Day

Canvassing

Today was a chill day. First, we had a guest speaker and a friend Dr. McLauchlan come in to speak to us. He is the senate minority leader in the Tennessee senate. His name is Jeff Yarbo, and he spoke about how he worked with Dr. McLauchlan on the Gore campaign in 2000. He told us about how Tennessee was a swing state not too long ago. Candidates would have to go to the state to try and win it from both sides, but now it has voted Republican in the last few presidential elections. Once we left the hotel, we were dropped off at our respective headquarters. The Biden students spent the day out canvassing. We were first in downtown Manchester, which put us in a difficult place because there were many apartments and it was hard to contact the voters. There were 3 full pages of names in my packet that were not accessible because they lived in luxury apartments. I needed to eat something delicious, so I wanted to go to the gyro place we had been eating at basically every day. Unfortunately, it was closed on Sundays so we went to a Vietnamese restaurant. After a VERY long time, we went back to the HQ and got another packet. One of the Biden students had to leave early, so Fallia and I were the only ones left. We went canvassing in a neighborhood when it started snowing. I thought it was beautiful to be outside and it was not as cold as I thought it was going to be. Anyway, we got back to the hotel at night and went to bed. Oh and also, I'm very glad Joaquin Phoenix won the Oscar for best actor.

Biden event #2 and Dem. Dinner

Biden Event in Rex Theater in Manchester

Biden with the press

Amy Klobuchar at Dinner

Elizabeth Warren at Dinner

Today was another big day. In the morning, the Biden people had to leave early from the hotel so that we could to the Rex Theater in Manchester for a Biden event. We could not see Dante Scala, who wrote a book on New Hampshire politics that we had to read for class, but I was not that disappointed because I actually enjoy working at the Biden events. The Biden students were in charge of getting a head count every 15 minutes so that the people inside could get an idea of how they were going to accommodate people. Once the doors opened, we had to bring people in groups of 10 so that they would not cluster inside. I The place was packed, so people had to start filling the lobbying and could not get a seat. The people who were still outside were moved to a cantina across the street. Since they could not attend the event, Biden went to the cantina first so that they could get a chance to meet him. I thought that was very sweet of him to do that, which is another quality of him that I find inspiring. Then he went to the theater and did his thing. He was introduced by Michelle Kwan, who is a surrogate of his and did a good job of explaining her support for him. Once the vent was over, the Biden people grabbed lunch at the cantina and then went to the HQ. Once the afternoon kicked in, we were picked up by our van driver and we headed to the SNHU arena where there was a Democratic fundraising dinner for all the candidates. Many well-known people were there, including Michael J. Fox, Michael Moore, Michelle Kwan, and more. Rep. Pappas spoke at the beginning of the event. Also, both New Hampshire senators spoke about the need to win the Senate and the White House. The candidates that were there had their supporters in the arena seats with shirts and banners. The biggest crowds were the Buttigieg people and the Warren people. Needless to say, I really enjoyed the night because I could se all the candidates speak about the importance of this election.

Debate Visibility

Tonight is the debate. Although we were not able to get inside, we were part of the debate visibility. This means that we congregate with our campaigns and we cheer for our candidates. Since the debate was at Saint Anselm college, the people at the debate visibility got together along the street. People made up chants as they waved their signs to mark their candidate's presence. As cars would pass by, they would honk and cheer for their respective candidates. Our professor told us that it isn't a real debate visibility if there isn't blood shed. I do not think she meant this literally, but I understood what she was trying to say. I can definitely say that there was no blood shed, but I can bet that there were tears shed. This was a peculiar day because it was a cloudy day. We knew it was going to rain, but I did not expect to see what happened there. In the 3 hours that the Biden students were outside, we got to see the precipitation in front of us turn from rain to sleet and finally to snow. I was not crying on the outside, but I sure as hell was on the inside. I'm not one to complain too much, but that was a rough day.

Saint Anselm tour

Saint Anselm

View outside of hotel

Today was not as packed but still a lot of fun. We woke up to snow, which I cannot say has happened to me very often since I am from Florida. It had apparently been snowing during the night, so we woke up and there was a blanket of white outside. Once the van drivers got snow off of the vans, we headed to Saint Anselm college. This is a private school outside of Manchester. There, we were given a tour by a very knowledgeable man. He showed us where the candidates were going to be for the debate that would happen the 7th. Also, he told us that all the candidates get make-up, even if you would not expect someone to have it on. Apparently, he told us that many of the students are involved in polling data and a good number of students end up working in the political realm, whether in the news or campaigning. He also showed us a podium that JFK spoke from when he was in New Hampshire. The college was awesome because of its involvement in politics.