Most of my time as the political intern for the Sierra Club during the elections was spent on efforts that encouraged people to attend political events and to get out the vote - phone banking, promoting chapter events through social media, helping to coordinate events with other groups of the Sierra Club, and the like. As to be expected, this was mostly behind the scenes work done in the office, but I also attended events out in the field, such as canvassing and meet and greets with some of our endorsed candidates. These were especially interesting in my home county, as I had more of a connection to the campaigns.
As an outsider, political campaigns seem overwhelming to run - how do you coordinate teams to get out the vote, to make sure that when people head to the polls, they’ve at least heard of your candidate? The most important steps are often the smallest ones; achieving some level of personal contact is often the most effective. While phone banking for hours on end is not what one would typically consider fun, it’s extremely effective in mobilizing voters. Any on the ground event - such as cavasses, meet and greets, rallies, etc. - will drum up some amount of support and are always worth the time. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that although they may seem unimportant in the grand scheme of the election, the small, day-to-day actions and tasks, cannot be neglected. Everything you do has an impact on the outcome; it is absolutely worth it to get involved with elections and politics.
It’s daunting to spend your time talking to total strangers, especially when you’re not sure if they’ll be receptive to what you’re saying. I’m not a shy person, but the thought of canvassing initially filled me with dread. Luckily enough, it does get easier with practice. One of the most important aspects of personal growth that I’ve experienced through this internship is the ability to feel comfortable talking and spreading a message to almost anyone. I’ve also learned that even when the outcome is not what you hoped for, there’s always more things to be done to further your goals. This goes for situations ranging from not getting a lot of attendance at an event to having a lead endorsed candidate lose their race.
Personally, I would like to work on environmental, and specifically climate change, policy in the future. This internship served as a way for me to dip my foot into the political campaign waters, and while I am grateful for the experiences, I think I would ultimately like to focus less on elections and more on the work that happens after. There is a clear and undeniable link between politics and policy - if you help to campaign for officials that share similar goals as you, they’re likely to be receptive to policy proposals you put forth once they’re in office. Although my main love is implementing change through writing, my experience working with the Sierra Club to help the campaigns of our endorsed candidates will be extremely valuable in the future, even if I don’t return to anything explicitly political.
Kate Rush
Fall 2018 Political Intern
