Role Reversal: Advice for Campaigners From a Volunteer

Almost every campaign, no matter the size, needs volunteers. Typically these volunteers are either constituents looking to lend a hand or students or professionals looking to get a foot in the door of professional politics.
Last November, a special election was scheduled in New Jersey’s 14th legislative district to fill the seat vacated by former Sen. Bill Baroni. The race pitted Republican Tom Goodwin, who had been appointed to fill the seat when Baroni resigned, against Democratic Assemblywomen Linda Greenstein. As a student and a campaign volunteer for Tom Goodwin, I can speak firsthand about my experience volunteering on a campaign.
Most of my time as a volunteer was spent cold calling and setting up for events. Though these are very important functions on any successful campaign, I sometimes wondered if my experience as an intern in a legislative office and as a political science student could have been better employed. Some possibilities could have included more door-to-door campaigning or possibly some opposition research. Who could be better suited to learn about issues or do research then a current student? Volunteers—especially student volunteers—are the perfect resource for taking advantage of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Instead of just cold calling, Facebook messaging and tweeting could be an ideal campaign activity for these young, Internet-savvy volunteers.
For students or professionals looking to find their way in politics, volunteering on a campaign and working their way up is a typical path of advancement. Bright volunteers on a winning campaign can find themselves quickly moving up the ranks and possibly even landing a job within the candidate’s inner circle or with the state party. My supervisor on the Tom Goodwin campaign, Eric Sedler, had started out as a volunteer on one of Senator Baroni’s campaigns and then interned in his legislative office. As Sedler put it to me during my first week on the job, “Stick around long enough, and you’ll probably get hired.”
In the end, the election did not go as planned for Goodwin, and Linda Greenstein replaced him in January. As an intern and volunteer for Goodwin, losing the election meant that I was out of a job, but it also felt somewhat personal. The disappointment felt a bit like losing a sporting event, and I wondered if I could have done more to help the campaign win. Maybe I could have visited a few more houses or licked a few more envelopes. But, in the end, I realized, the candidate’s loss was not my own.
However, I am glad to have pitched in on Goodwin’s campaign and hope to participate in many more races to come. The knowledge I gained on the campaign trail is truly priceless; nowhere else can you experience such a fast-paced tactical environment. As technology advances, this pace will only increase and exploiting the skills and talents of volunteers—especially student volunteers engaged with social media—will surely benefit any modern campaign.Angelo Vitale is an intern with C&E.