Tech students gain insight into political campaigns

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Tech students gain insight into political campaigns

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Tech s political science campaigns and elections class taught by Jennifer Anderson, has gone through a campaign simulation the last couple of weeks, giving students a unique insight into what running a campaign is all about.

Students enjoy it and they learn the course material so much better through active learning, said Anderson. This year s group has been the most impressive. They work very hard outside the classroom, as well as our time together on simulation day.

The students were put into four groups of six to seven students. Each group received a fictional candidate and one person on each team was selected to play the candidate while the others took roles of campaign manager, fundraiser, media consultant, advertising consultant and speech writer.

The groups were given realistic and specific context to consider when formulating a campaign strategy, including the location of the district (rural/urban), the underlying partisan preferences of the voters, the issues that matter to the district, and whether their candidate was an incumbent or challenger.

During the simulation, the groups had to write a formal campaign strategy, produce three ads, make three speeches, and participate in a debate and fundraising activities while conducting various media interviews and commentary.

Everything that you would expect to see in a campaign is what we are having to deal with, said Caleb Wilson, a junior political science major from Rickman. It s been an interesting class. We ve had to deal with some tough challenges.

The fictitious candidates have had to deal with some real-life campaign problems such as scandals that creep up at the last minute.

This experience has really opened my eyes to some parts you don t see as a candidate. That s been a good experience, said Bailey Barnes, a senior political science major from Rock Island, who is playing the role of Al Sparks, a Republican congressional candidate. I love political campaigns. I do want to go into public service at some point in my life. During the hyper-sensitive time we are in right now, I don t think it s a good time to throw your hat in the ring because it gets really ugly really fast.

Overcoming obstacles is just part of the campaign simulation process. Students are graded on all facets of the campaign including who wins the election. One of the most important parts of the process is making sure the groups get their candidates message across to the voters.

A modern campaign has to be a mix of what resonates with voters and the ability to get that idea out there, said Anderson. A candidate can have all the right ideas, but if he or she doesn t present those to the voters in a way that is meaningful, the candidate can fall short.

The fictional campaigns wrapped up with an election on Thursday. Incumbent Democrat Max Dodge defeated Republican challenger Charlie Green in a congressional race, and incumbent Democrat Regina Flett defeated Republican challenger Al Sparks for a congressional seat as well.

I have a few students who are already managing local-level campaigns, so this is extremely relevant to their lives. For those who aren t yet, many aspire to, said Anderson. I have a couple of students who I would not be surprised to see them run for office one day. This is something that can be relevant in their lives moving forward.

Photos:

Jennifer Anderson gives instructions to her political science campaign and elections class.

TTU senior political science major Bailey Barnes, posing as Republican congressional candidate Al Sparks, films a commercial with junior political science major Caleb Wilson in the Tech media center.

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