Elder Hofrenning Seligsohn
New Hampshire Primary
9
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ESPONSES TO
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Q
UESTIONS
Question 1: Did your experience in New Hampshire make you more likely
or less likely to get involved in future campaigns and/or other political
work?
Hartwick
•
Working on a campaign gives you a lot of motivation to move towards a common
goal with others, and as much energy as it can take away, it gives back a lot in
terms of your excitement, interest, and knowledge for the candidate or cause of
your choice.
•
Going to NH made me realize how grassroots and personal politics can be. I
think most Americans feel that politics is something that doesn’t affect them and
they feel disconnected from it. My experience in NH made me realize that
politics and political experiences can and should be a very person to person face
to face experience.
•
I now know that any amount of help will be readily appreciated by any campaign,
(although in the future I’ll be aiming for paid positions)
•
My experience in NH increased the likelihood that I would participate in political
campaigns in the future. Since NH I have volunteered for the Kerry/Edwards
ticket. The volunteer work that I did for the Kerry campaign is similar to the
work I did for the Dean campaign in NH. The NH trip did a lot to spark my
interest in politics/POSC and since then I have picked up political science as a
second major.
•
By feeling the excitement and enthusiasm of other people and wanting to make a
difference in our world, the candidates and volunteers drove me to get excited.
•
It gave me a window on what campaigns are like and I really enjoyed it and am
more likely to do this again.
•
NH opened my eyes to issue I didn’t know existed and exposed me to a much
more raw side of politics. The glossy shine was stripped away and I saw politics
from “the other side.” I realize from this experience that I may not want to work
on a presidential campaign due to its size and therefore lack of intimacy. The
experience has encouraged me to work on smaller campaigns (local and state).
•
I would not get involved in national campaigns as a low level volunteer as a result
of working on Dean’s campaign. I didn’t feel like I had any influence on the
campaign whereas in a state or local campaign I could see that I made a
difference.
•
Yes, I want to get involved with political work but not as a campaign volunteer.
•
Campaign work just isn’t the type of work I enjoy doing. I’m not really into
American politics. However, I would like to get involved in analyzing data and
results.
•
Because you are in a campaign and getting first hand experience instead of in the
classroom you learn about how a campaign runs and your involvement in it.
•
New Hampshire reinforced my political views and made me a stronger partisan.
It also taught me how important the grassroots work really is. I now understand