Skip to main content

Day 9: Election day!

Day 9 y'all and it is ELECTION DAY! Polls are open till 7:00 pm in all forty-six counties of South Carolina and you can bet that people are making their voices heard. We started our day back at Lizard's Thicket to see Ainsley Earhardt from Fox and Friends promote the primary elections in the traditional retail politics-sense. She interviewed the tables around us. Alexa, Alexis, and I got to have a delightful conversation with the two women at the table next to us who are a part of the Republican Party and have been working in the political realm throughout their careers. I mainly talked with the younger woman (who I will not disclose their name out of respect their privacy) who has experience working in Tampa, Florida on tax reform and now on tobacco reform. Her specialty is in issue-based politics, so focusing on policy, and right now she is lobbying to protect the youth of South Carolina from the harmful toxins of e-cigarettes. What are the chances that someone who has spent time in Tampa, Florida is right besides us? To the left of us at Lizard's Thicket, was the Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis. He discussed his role as an elected member of the Florida cabinet. Maybe Florida and South Carolina are more connected than I realized. 

Afterwards, we went to a Saturday market in Columbia near the State House. It was a huge outdoor market that took the space of several streets. There were food vendors, clothes sellers, artisans, and live music. It was so nice to get some free time to stroll and explore the culture of Columbia. We then went to a community center to see if there would be any live news coverage of voters entering and exiting polls. Laura, one of my classmates, made the discovery that these people holding Trump signs on the sidewalk were U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) and some of her staff members. It was ironic because our Trump interns in our course met her just a few hours prior. It was random to see her there on a random road at a community center waving Trump signs, but there she was. Considering I must remain objective and scholarly in my blogs, I'll keep my opinions to myself...let's just say I was not entirely enthusiastic to meet her...😟

Then us Democratic students went to the South Carolina Democratic Party (SCDP) headquarters to watch the turnout of the election. We did some data analysis work for the SCDP then had a pizza party while watching the election turnout. Haley won three counties including her home county (remember Michael Mulé said she would win none), but Trump won the majority of the votes in the Republican primary in South Carolina. Haley later gave a speech indicating that she is still running in the race. What an ending to all of our activities here in South Carolina!

Ainsley Earhardt - Lizard's Thicket

Eran - Saturday Market in Columbia



Protest against the war in Ukraine - Columbia market
Live news at the polling station - community center



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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

 We started the morning off with our typical morning seminar and breakfast then headed to the State House! I have been to the Florida Capitol several times but I was so excited to visit South Carolina's. It was absolutely beautiful. The main colors of the rooms, walls, and ceilings were teal and a dark rose. The colors complemented each other so well. The furniture was of wood and navy leather. There was a skylight on the second floor that splits into the Senate Chamber and House of Representatives. The history behind the building was fascinating. It was originally built by slaves, construction was halted, and then it was completed in the early 1900s. Representative Micah Caskey (R) of Lexington County and Representative Mike Neese (R) of Lancaster County spoke to us while we visited the House of Representatives. They were laid-back, answered all of our questions, and had some interesting perspectives to provide during their time as Representatives. For example, for Representative ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 2: Democratic Party, Black History Parade, Nikki Haley Bus Stop Tour

 Today we went to the Aiken County Democratic Party to learn more about the county demographics, voter concerns, what motivates citizens to vote, what are the goals of the Democratic Party, and to answer any student questions. Theresa and Pete were really patient and answered all our questions, and offered really great insight. We also were in Aiken for the Black History Month Parade. It was a fantastic time, and our peers, Nathan and Steven, even participated in the parade!  We then went over to Irmo, South Carolina for Nikki Haley's bus stop tour to listen to her speech. It is a grassroots event that is happening around South Carolina to reach local voters to motivate them to get out and vote. Dr. JSM arranged for us to meet and get a picture with Haley after the event. It was definitely interesting to attend an event and listen to a speaker from the Republican Party as someone who has previously always attended and interned for the Democratic Party. I even got interviewed b...
Post a Comment
Read more