Kucinich says he's used to single digits
Originally published in PoliticsNH
Kucinich says he's used to single digits
By KEVIN FORD
For PoliticsNH.com
MANCHESTER Jan. 27 – Forget those pesky numbers. For the Kucinich campaign, Tuesday was a victory in their long journey to the Democratic convention in July.
Despite early polls showing the campaign getting a mere 2 percent of the primary vote, the mood was one of optimism at the campaign’s Primary watch party. After musicians whipped the crowd into a frenzy, Rep. Dennis Kucinich used his first post-primary speech to encourage his supporters to not give up the fight.
“At my height, I’ve been in single digits all my life,” joked Kucinich. He added that while other candidates may put a lot of eggs in one basket, “I put a few eggs in 50 baskets.”
Even before the polls closed on Tuesday evening, campaign workers and volunteers for Rep. Dennis Kucinich were in the mood to celebrate. After a day of coordinating interviews with the Ohio congressman, increasing visibility, and getting out the vote in Kucinich-friendly precincts, the campaign gathered en masse at headquarters to eat, drink, sing and take a breather before continuing their march toward the Democratic convention in Boston.
Kucinich had been struggling throughout the campaign to gain the attention and respect of New Hampshire’s voters, as well as its media. Polls continually showed him at the bottom tier of the seven remaining Democratic candidates for President. But early in the day, national campaign manager Dot Maver told workers and volunteers to “forget about the polls.”
“Regardless of the results tonight,” said Maver, “let’s keep living life from the inside out. Always remember we’re in this for the right reasons.”
It was an inspirtional speech, aimed at people like Katie Morris. The 22 year-old intern was one of 8 people who traveled from Kucinich’s hometown of Cleveland to help the campaign in the last week of the race. She said that speaking to voters around the Granite State, she kept hearing the same thing.
“They’d tell us, ‘We really love Dennis, we really love his policies, but we just don’t think he can beat Bush,’” said Morris. “It was very discouraging. If you’re thinking like that, you’re not voting for the right reasons.”
Morris acknowledged the likelihood that Kucinich would not be the eventual nominee, but she also illustrated why people like her continue with the campaign against daunting odds.
“This is bigger than a political campaign,” said Morris. “We can influence what the platform of the eventual nominee is. They have to pay attention to us.”
It was a sentiment shared by volunteer Daegan Shaheen, who traveled from California as part of the Democreation Project to help the Kucinich campaign in the final weeks of the race.
“The last week and a half has been fantastic,” said Shaeen, 22. “There’s been a real surge of energy in this campaign.”
As the post-Primary party wound to a close, Shaheen said the evening’s tally was irrelevant.
“Tonight, the furthest thing from our mind is discouragement,” said Shaheen. “The closest thing is determination, passion, and steadfastness. Nobody wins the campaign in New Hampshire.
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