After being trained on how to use the miniVAN app to canvas the houses of likely Sanders supporters, Will split us up into groups of about 4 people with one local volunteer in each group who would drive us out to the neighborhoods. We were each given a map of the neighborhood that we were to canvas, a clipboard full of campaign literature, and some hand warmers (very necessary for a January day in Iowa.) We piled into the car and we were off! The volunteer dropped each member of our group off in our respective neighborhoods and told to text her our address at 2:30 so that we could make it to our lunch with a “special guest” from the campaign at 3 (spoiler alert: it wasn’t Bernie Sanders, but close.)

Standard Iowa canvassing kit with a map, a stack of campaign literature, and a pack of hand warmers. (Smartphone not pictured.)

And so I stepped out once again into the bitter Iowa winter, ripped open my campaign-issued pack of hand warmers, shook them vigorously, and placed them in my coat pockets. I was ready to “hit some doors.”

The near-zero wind chill gave the canvassing an extra dimension of adventure!

Canvasing

After knocking out my first few houses, I developed a system for accomplishing my task while keeping my hands safe from the absolutely gnarly cold. The main problem was that I was constantly taking off my thick winter gloves as I needed to use the miniVAN app to read the door knocking script and report the results to the campaign. I ended up throwing the gloves in my backpack and settling on the following guidelines to prevent frostbite: keep hands in warm pockets for as long as possible, only take them out when walking up the driveway, after reporting the door knock put phone back in pocket and quickly put hands back into coat pockets.

My first door knock of the 2020 primary season! (Nobody was home.)

By the end of my first round of door knocking, I had hit about 3/4ths of the houses on my list, not too bad for my first time in 4 years. I texted the volunteer who dropped me off and she picked me back up and brought me back to the office. We were greeted once again by the staffers, this time with pizza and drinks for lunch. There was a short debriefing session, where we discussed some memorable door knocks (lots of passionate Trump supporters,) and what we could improve upon for the next round after lunch.

Lunch with Rep. Ro Khanna

Our debrief was interrupted by the special guest, Representative Ro Khanna from California’s 17th district, who in the past week had made headlines for leading a bipartisan effort in the house to cut funding for Trump’s war with Iran. Rep. Khanna was met with excitement and handshakes from the office full of progressives who had followed this bill and revere Khanna who is, in my opinion, the “AOC of the West Coast.”

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) speaking to the Fort Dodge canvassing team on Jan 11

After a healthy dose of greetings, Khanna stood in the circle and thanked us personally for helping to propel Bernie Sanders into the presidency. Rep. Khanna then opened himself up to question from the group for about 15 minutes. The first questions from the group pertained to a general sense of anxiety about Trump’s brinkmanship with Iran during the week prior. Below is a tweet thread of videos from Khanna’s question and answer session with volunteers:

What became clear after the lunch with Ro Khanna was the role of the campaign’s network of left-wing celebrities like Khanna and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez who are being carted around Iowa by the Sanders campaign. The visits by the progressive firebrands of the 116th congress seems to be a means of injecting energy and buzz into the campaign efforts in tiny Iowa towns where the grassroots work is being done by an army of passionate volunteers. Ultimately, turning out voters in record numbers for Sanders all across Iowa and the US is how the primary will be won. Having the opportunity to engage with politicians who are fighting for our issues was an added bonus for a day spent trying to accomplish exactly that goal.

Rep. Ro Khanna and I hanging out at the Fort Dodge office. Photo by Danijel Juric.

All good things must come to an end, and with Rep. Khanna’s departure, we wasted no time getting geared up with new maps and replenished literature for round 2 of canvassing. This time, Will sent each carpool to a different small town in the area around Fort Dodge. My group was sent to the microscopic community of Dayton, which according to the 2010 census had a population of 847 people. We did not have very much time before we were scheduled to get back on the bus for the 3 hour drive back to South Dakota, so upon arriving in Dayton, we jumped out of the car and started speed-walking in opposite directions towards homes marked by the campaign as likely Bernie voters.

Reaching out to small communities

We only had about 30 minutes to hit as many houses as possible in a mad dash to make a splash in this farming town. I ended up only speaking to about 3 voters. However, two of those interactions were among the most memorable of the day.

A screenshot from the Sanders campaign version of the miniVAN app used for canvassing. Emphasis is placed on sharing your own reasons for supporting sanders and asking for what matters to voters.

In Dayton I spoke to three people: a woman who was completely undecided and did not know where her caucus location was, a rugged man who donned a camo baseball cap and carhartts, and finally a middle aged librarian who was very engaged in the primary news. I informed all of these individuals that they could caucus on February 3rd at the Dayton community center.

My conversation with the final woman was probably my most memorable door knock of the day. She told me that she supported Bernie in 2016 and still liked him, but was also considering voting for Pete Buttigieg. At this moment Will’s training kicked in. Personally, I despise Buttigieg on a purely political level (though I think he’s a nice enough guy.) I cannot accept the fact that he takes donations from billionaires and corporations (knowledge that was made famous by Elizabeth Warren’s iconic wine cave quip.) Instead of arguing with this woman about her support for mayor Pete, I validated her opinion by agreeing that I do see the appeal of his well-spoken sharp-as-a-tack Obama-esque politics. I then stated that I personally would not vote for him and would instead vote for Bernie based on the fundraising issue. I believe that the top priority in this country is getting money out of politics and overturning Citizens United by any means possible. The librarian understood my gripes and gladly took my campaign literature. We wished each other a nice night as I walked back to the car to depart Dayton, IA for the weekend.

Going home

Back at the office, the team of volunteers seemed to know each other quite a bit better after spending a day in the freezing cold fighting for the issues that they believe in with conviction. I personally feel that I met some great people who were volunteering for the campaign, both in Fort Dodge and on the bus from Sioux Falls. We ate dinner together in the office and with calls to action to return next weekend, we departed and loaded the bus back to South Dakota.

The three hour drive back home felt shorter than the drive in the morning, as this time it was occupied by honest and deep political discussions about the past ills and future of this country. One of my new friends commented that her favorite thing about volunteering for Bernie was meeting the “Kindred souls” who are attracted to working for the campaign.

Based on my experience in Iowa, it seems that the campaign is using its new influx of cash to enhance and build on the grassroots organizing strategies that shook up the 2016 primary. One thing is clear; in 2020 Bernie is back, and his campaign seems to be using their money in new and unique ways.

I felt that my free mini-vacation to Iowa was well worth the sacrifice of an entire day. I left feeling inspired and excited about the results of the Iowa primary. Above all else, I got to spend time with people who shared the same passion for politics and progressive issues that I have. And for that, I am grateful to the campaign for facilitating such an environment.