As the GOP presidential field continues to narrow and candidates rapidly lose their footing, staffs in key states, like N.H., begin to disappear, making access to the candidate nearly impossible.
On Friday, Oct. 21, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s already-slim campaign staff of five walked out on the campaign, making the First In The Nation state even more difficult for Bachmann to win.
Although the staffers released a letter stating that they weren’t leaving because of the candidate, but rather the organization of the campaign staff, it’s going to hurt the Minnesota congresswoman.
Smaller staffs make connecting N.H. voters to a candidate more difficult, and getting a candidate to a campus like KSC nearly impossible. A larger field staff is able to more successfully build relationships and groups of support across a state, making a network of people committed to helping a candidate succeed. National campaigns are more likely to bring a candidate to these networks of supporters than small groups of uncommitted people.
By losing her campaign staff in N.H., Bachmann’s nearly guaranteeing any slim chance we had of seeing her in Keene is merely a dream now.
Although Bachmann’s staffers may not have left because of her, the inability to meet a candidate before voting in the N.H. primary is very unattractive to most voters.
While Bachmann’s on the forefront of discussion because of her Ames straw poll win in August and her growing stardom among other GOP candidates, certainly others will lose their field staffs as well, lessening our ability to meet the one who may take to the Oval Office just over a year from now. Other campaigns are already narrowly staffed and hard to reach, and will start disappearing as well, be it because of money or support.
Eventually, we’ll be left with just a frontrunner or two with a strong presence.
Instead of being able to interact with and meet all of the candidates, we’re reaching the point at which we’ll only get to meet those who can afford to spend time with us.
By attending as many political events as we possibly can, we demonstrate to candidates and their committees that we’re worth that time and money.
Before we can expect to see candidates, we need to demonstrate that we’ll be there, willing to hear them out.
We need to volunteer for those we believe in, listen to those we may disagree with, and continue to increase the political activity on-campus to make ourselves an essential stop, especially as candidates begin cutting extra stops along the campaign trail.
Despite party affiliation, it’s of the utmost importance for all students to get involved, and to do so with an open mind.
We tend to be a Democratically-dominant campus, making us less appealing to Republican candidates. But despite our left-leaning tendencies, many politically-minded students are interested, and have attended, events hosted by Republican candidates.
Continuing to do so will demonstrate our commitment to candidates and make them more apt to visit KSC.
Though there may not be much we can do about the Bachmann camp at this point, it’s a lesson learned and something to be noted.
Campaigns shrink because of the lack of interest and support of voters, making candidates unreachable.
By doing our part to stay as actively involved as we possibly can, we’ll help keep Cheshire County and KSC on the map and, hopefully, keep ties to access to candidates we’d like to meet.
Allie Bedell can be contacted at abedell@keene-equinox.com