Day 6: SCRP, Cook Out, Lindsey Green, Carol Fowler, Vivik Ramaswamy

Day 6. Wow. We have made it far. 4 days left. It feels like we have been in South Carolina for an eternity. I do not mean that in a bad way at all! I have loved everything that we have done and I have soaked up all the information that I can. We have been working hard day to night. School assignments in the hotel after nightly seminars and activities. It has been a whirlwind. There is still a lot to go. Today was a mix of Republican and Democratic activities. We started the day by going to the South Carolina Republican Party Headquarters (SCRP). We met with the Executive Director, Hope Walker Rossi, and Abby, Communications Head, they were both so kind and answered all of our questions. They shared their backgrounds in politics and talked about how their office is unaffiliated with candidates. They do not go to any candidate events (same with the South Carolina Democratic Party-SCDP) They discussed how candidates how to go through their office to get on the ballot. They discussed how SC deserves the first in the nation spot in the sequential calendar for the primary because it has the best track record for picking presidents in the primary.

We then went to the iconic Cook Out! I have never been before (considering I am a vegetarian I do not typically do much fast food anyway) and I was so excited to try their famous milkshake. I got an oreo milkshake and it was definitely a highlight of my day😋

We then went to the SCDP to hear from Lindsey Green who was the Director for Get Out the Vote (GOTV) for the first in the nation primaries. She discussed the program objectives and what they did in South Carolina to increase voter contact and engagement. It was truly inspiring to see the work that the Democrats did throughout GOTV. Carol Fowler also spoke to us who was the former second Vice Chair of the SCDP and the former Chair of the SCDP in 2007. She was the first woman to be the Chair of the SCDP and her husband had also served in this capacity as well. They were the only married couple to do so. She is now a part of the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the DNC. She has been a part of the Democratic Party for so long, and she gave us a wonderful history of the Democratic Party in South Carolina and why this primary is so important. We worked on data analysis for the SCDP afterwards as well.

Then we did a complete 180 this evening. We went to a Vivik Ramaswamy event in which he was being interviewed at Benny's Brews. It was definitely out of my comfort zone to attend, but it was interesting to see a point of view different than mine. Especially to attend an event of such degree different than what I am used to. It was a culture incompatible of what I am used to as well, with extreme rhetoric discussed.

SCRP

Steven, Alexis, and I - SCRP

Cook Out

Alexis and I - Cook Out

Lindsey Green - SCDP

Carol Fowler - SCDP

Alexa and I - Benny's Brew

Dr. JSM - Benny's Brew

Vivik Ramaswamy - Benny's Brew

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Welcome to my blog!

Hello everyone and thank you for checking out my blog! My name is Lana Sleiman and I am a senior at USF Tampa majoring in political science with a minor in French and francophone studies. I am excited to take you along with me as I embark on the Road to the Whitehouse internship in South Carolina! I told myself in freshman year of college that I wanted to participate in an internship or job with a presidential campaign by the time it was the end of my senior year, or right after graduation, since I knew I would be graduating in a general election year. Once I learned about this course and the opportunity that it would grant me to intern for the South Carolina Democratic Party, and get hands-on learning experience in a presidential campaign cycle, I knew I had to apply for this course. It was everything I had wanted since freshman year. I have had other governmental experience such as interning for Florida Democratic Representative Fentrice Driskell of former District 63. I had lea...

Day 7: State House tour - Rep Micah Caskey & Rep Mike Neese, last day at the SCDP, & turning SC purple

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USF Road to the White House 2024 - Lana Sleiman

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