An Irish Bellwether for Obama?

SOUTH BEND, Indiana -- Notre Dame University is not known as a bastion of liberalism. But when the student body held a mock election for president in early October, Barack Obama emerged the surprise winner, topping John McCain 52 to 41 percent. In '04, George W. Bush narrowly bested John Kerry among Notre Dame students.

Over 2,000 students--or roughly a fifth of the student body (undergrad and grad)--voted. The Obama campaign is hoping the high turnout in the mock election bodes well for the real thing on Tuesday.

College Democrats are impressively well-organized here. The Northern Indiana College Democrats--led by students from Notre Dame and Indiana University-South Bend (IUSB)--formed their own political action committee this winter (they've raised over $10,000) and opened a campaign office in South Bend in September. They expected fifty people to show up for the office opening; 300 came. According to Spencer Howard, the president of College Democrats at Notre Dame, "as far as we know, it's the first and only College Democrat-run campaign office in the country."

Howard (a senior political science major from Lexington, Kentucky) cofounded the organization with two students from IUSB, Sean Dvorak (a junior biology major) and Caitlin Worm (a junior political science major), who's also president of College Democrats statewide. Worm did the bulk of the fundraising, got support from local unions and even printed up two attack ads that helped oust an unpopular Democratic incumbent in a primary for county commissioner. She grew up in North Liberty, Indiana--population 1,200--and still commutes to campus.

Their rented storefront on Mishawaka Avenue now functions as a GOTV location for the Obama campaign, buzzing with volunteers of all ages who've been making phone calls and knocking on doors in the campaign's final days. It looks like any other campaign office, save for the giant Bob Marley poster in the garage and thrift store couches (which I'm currently filing from).

One hundred and fifty students came in to volunteer since Saturday, says Howard. When classes got out this afternoon, about twenty students (some of whom barely looked over eighteen) reported for duty. They're spending the night at the office and waking up at 3:30 am (or pulling all-nighters).

Howard worked 24 hours this weekend, he told me, and barely has any time to celebrate his twenty-third birthday today ("I'll celebrate when we win tomorrow"). How often is he studying these days? "Intermittently," he responds. He had to leave the office early today to take a German exam.

Students from out of state who go to school in the area have changed their registration to vote in Indiana. There's been a lot of hype about youth voters this election, but these College Democrats predicts their peers will turn out tomorrow. "They'll definitely vote, big time," says Worm. "Most of them will vote Democratic."

It's remarkable to see how engaged people are around this election, particularly the young people who politicians so often write off. They're the boots on the ground for Obama; missing classes, forsaking jobs and moving to the middle of nowhere to volunteer for his campaign. The final exam comes tomorrow.

Comments (5)

1. Yes, yes, yes..."the youth vote".

   Posted by Maskdelta at 11/03/2008 @ 7:25pm

2. mask,

   you'll thank heaven for every "youth" vote.

   hey,

   how old were you when you first voted?

   Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 9:28pm

3. Good job folks!! Why we vote….

   Okay ladies and gentlemen.  Let me explain a couple of very important facts about presidential elections.  In spite of what you hear in the MSM, this is not a popularity contest.  We're not voting for Prom Queen or Head Cheerleader or Dog Catcher.

   We're voting for the next Justices of the Supreme Court, we are voting for the individual that will sign into law Bills that will either favor the large MultiNational Corporations or favor "We the People".  We are voting for the individual that will become the next Commander In Chief of our military and will have complete control over how our military is deployed and what their missions will be.  We are voting for whether we want to continue to lose young American lives for BIG OIL , or bring our troops home to recuperate and be ready for the DEFENSE of our country. 

   We're voting for the individual who will be the custodian of our Liberties and our Freedom.  We are voting for the individual who'll be the leader of the free world and exemplify what America stands for.

   We can elect an individual that stands with the American people or one that stands with the favored, we can vote for one that believes we become stronger from the bottom up, or we can vote for one who is on the top and wants to continue to support those on top.

   It's up to us.  To vote for a party or candidate that doesn't support your interest because you don't like the cut of their opponent's hair or the sound of their opponent's laugh or the color of their opponent's skin is to cut off your nose to spite you face.  Many of you did that in 2000 and 2004 and we're not better off for it.  Please think about your vote. 

   Posted by COProgressive at 11/03/2008 @ 10:45pm

4. Posted by COProgressive at 11/03/2008 @ 10:45pm

   Let me suggest that you think a bit before you post. No one likes listening to some pompous ass tell them they are an idiot - and your post more or less does that. Thankfully, you are more or less preaching to the choir here, so the damage you are causing is minimal. I can only hope that you aren't posting like this elsewhere.

   Posted by srjenkins at 11/04/2008 @ 11:32am

5. I'm originally from South Bend, and I attended Notre Dame. All I have to say is great job Caitlin, Howard and Sean! Oh, and, thank you!

   Posted by sbndu at 11/04/2008 @ 11:54am