Student group Young Democrats of Emory organized a canvassing event for Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Sept. 22. Students knocked on doors of local residents to encourage them to elect the first black female governor in the nation.
Kunal Goel, the Decatur Field Organizer for the Democratic Party of Georgia, and Young Democrats of Emory Co-President Brett Kleiman (20C) helped prepare about 25 students to canvass in Candler Park neighborhood over the weekend.
Goel demonstrated to the students, about half of whom had no prior experience with canvassing, how to speak to voters using a script on MiniVAN, a mobile app used for canvassing. The app provides a list of households and voters to target and instructs canvassers to ask questions like how strongly they support or oppose Stacey Abrams and what their opinions are on various political issues.
Dana Kahn (22C) said this was her first time canvassing, and that although she enjoyed the experience, she found that many voters were not at home.
“One guy who said he was voting for [Abrams] was really passionate about health care,” Kahn said. “We were able to bond over our discussion about Medicare for all.”
Emma Bailey (22C), who previously canvassed for a politician in her hometown, said that she expected the low contact rate.
“This is what canvassing is like on a Saturday,” Bailey said.
Of the 42 voters Bailey and her canvassing partner attempted to talk to, only 12 came to the door.
Candler Park is a largely liberal neighborhood, and the voters that the students spoke to were either registered as Democrats or independents.
Quinn Mulholland, a volunteer field organizer for the Abrams campaign, said that canvassing is vital in grassroots campaigns like Abrams’. Abrams has been recognized for her work in registering and mobilizing more voters in Georgia through the New Georgia Project. The group, which Abrams founded in 2013, claims to have registered more than 200,000 people, mostly minorities, women and young people.
“Canvassing is one of the most important things you can do for a campaign like ours that is so reliant on the ground game,” Mulholland said.
If elected, Abrams would be the first Democratic governor of Georgia since 2003. A poll conducted from Aug. 26 to Sept. 4 by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News found that the gubernatorial race between Abrams and Brian Kemp is extremely close, with the two candidates tied at 45 percent.
Onyie Eze (18Ox, 20C) said she was excited about the historic nature of the election.
“The type of campaign that [Abrams] is running will send a signal to Democrats across the country,” Eze said.
Many students said they agreed with Abrams’ campaign strategy, which leans farther left.
Young Democrats Activism Chair Alexis Greenblatt (21C) said that although Abrams’ progressive platform is riskier, she believes it will better unite the Democratic base in Georgia.
“It might be risky to appeal only to people who lean more liberal, but it’s still worth a shot,” Greenblatt said. “Democrats need to unite on important issues.”
Mulholland agreed with Greenblatt, saying that Democrats often move to the center in an effort to appeal to a “demographic that does not exist.”
Young Democrats Executive Board member Felix Wu (20C) and Kleiman said that the club became more active in the wake of the election of President Donald J. Trump.
“I was actually unpleasantly surprised the first time I got involved with the club as a freshman,” Wu said. “Our first general body meeting only had 20 people.”
Support for the Young Democrats of Emory has risen substantially since then, with around 150 active members and hundreds more on the club’s email list, Kleiman said.
CORRECTION (9/28/18 at 11:52 a.m.): A previous version of this article misstated that Kunal Goel is the Decatur, Ga., field organizer for Stacey Abrams' campaign. In fact, Goel is the Decatur, Ga., field organizer for the Democratic Party of Georgia.
Students Campaign for Stacey Abrams
stacey abrams speaks about improving Georgia health care at the Law school in spring 2018./Ayushi Agarwal, Photo Editor
