Virginia’s gubernatorial election ended on Tuesday, wrapping up weeks of campaign efforts by Georgetown students of every political persuasion.
The victor was Lt. Governor Tom Kaine (D), who beat out Attorney General Jerry Kilgore® by five percentage points.
As election night approached, the candidates were in a dead heat, spurring dozens of College Democrats and College Republicans to take part in “Get out the Vote” activities in Northern Virginia this weekend.
News sources cited Kaine’s strong performance in that area of the state as a factor in his victory. Student volunteers had a large impact on voter awareness, Lauryn Bruck (SFS ‘08), College Democrats campaign coordinator, said.
“Our ‘Georgetown Volunteer Day’ in Alexandria had the highest voter contact rate for one single weekend to date,” she said. “The sheer amount of students that went to volunteer almost every weekend since early September was incredible.”
Both the College Republicans and College Democrats joined their counterparts from other D.C. schools in last-minute election efforts. Republican students contributed to Kilgore’s 72-hour final push by knocking on nearly 4,000 doors, while Democrats earned money canvassing on election day itself.
Although the College Republicans were disappointed with Republican losses in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races, Communications Director Alex Bozmoski (CAS ‘08) said he was impressed by his party’s political energy.
“We have had abysmal participation rates in the past, but college youth are playing an increasingly important role in politics, and we saw that this last election,” he said.
While the College Democrats and Republicans were mobilizing students for down-to-the-wire canvassing and phone banking, other students also found ways to get involved with election efforts.
John Keig (CAS ‘06) said his current political internship encouraged him to get involved with “Get Out the Vote” efforts.
“Many campaigns depend on college-aged volunteers to do all the work that needs to be done,” he said. “Somebody needs to knock on doors, somebody needs to make phone calls.”
Instead of campaigning, Virginia resident Molly Kubiak (SFS ‘06) got involved as an election officer in an Arlington precinct.
She arrived at her station at 5 a.m. and helped voters through the election process, then processed and called in the results of her precinct that night.
“Overall, I think working the election was a really good experience, not just because I earned $130, but because it let me observe the democratic process up close,” she said. “I hope I can continue to help out with future elections.”