The nickname some young locals give this quiet city between two rivers in central Iowa is “Dead Moines” or “Des Morgue.”
The city, home to insurance companies and financial services corporations, sometimes unfairly carries the reputation as a place eschewed by young people.
But every four years, Iowa overflows with vibrant and passionate twentysomethings desperate to change the face of American politics. They believe the best backdrop for their revolution is the cities, towns and cornfields of Iowa.
Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses Monday officially kick off the presidential election season. For more than a year, candidates have been tromping across the state trying to sway the fiercely independent Iowa voters.
Traipsing close behind them are legions of young campaign workers doing the hard, slogging, long hours of grunt work for little or no pay. But there is a payoff if their man gets a shot at the White House.
“Sometimes you’re up until 2 a.m., and the next day you’ve got to be in class or you’ve got more campaign stuff to do, but it’s all worth it if you believe in what you’re doing,” says Dawn Van Dyke, 21, of Fairfax County, Va.
Van Dyke has worked for the Iowa Democratic Party and is an intern on Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. She got involved in politics in Iowa and chose to go to school at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa’s largest private college, so she could participate in the caucuses.
“You do everything,” Van Dyke says. “Sometimes you’re making phone calls. Other times you’re stuffing envelopes. The one I had the hardest time getting used to was knocking on doors when it’s freezing. It’s a little warmer where I come from.”
All of the workers believe they’re supporting the right person for the White House. They think their actions, however small, have a direct effect on their candidate’s chances.
Tim Tessar, 19, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, works for Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt’s campaign in Des Moines. Tessar has worked with the news media following Gephardt, helping set up events and writing news releases for local media.
“Every event you have is a reflection of your campaign,” Tessar says. “If your events go smoothly, then the press and the public perceive your campaign positively. If they don’t, then you can hurt the campaign.”
More Top Picks How To Advocate For Irlen Accommodations At School
There are even workers for candidates who aren’t actively campaigning in Iowa.
Jason Martell, 20, of Chippewa Falls, Wis., works for President Bush’s re-election campaign. The president is running unopposed, but Martell still tries to fire up his supporters for Monday’s caucuses.
“It’s a long way until November, and you want people to start getting active now,” he says. “We’re still going to caucus, and we want to send a strong message that people are very much behind the president. At this time in politics, there’s no better place to be than Iowa.”