The midterm elections

The Midterms Midterm

Directions: The midterm elections occur on November 6, 2018.  The results of these elections will decide all 435 members of the House of Representatives (amongst a variety of other positions & topics), including the representative of District 45 (your district).  The current campaign  for this seat is between incumbent Mimi Walters and challenger Katie Porter.

This midterm option requires you to get involved in the campaign of your choosing, participate for a few weeks, then write a reflection about your participation.  The details are as follows:

Choosing a Candidate

• You may pick either candidate, but the candidate you choose should reflect your individual values, principles and ideals.
• Ultimately, your goal is to get this person elected, so you need to ensure it is a person that warrants your effort, time & dedication.
• Use the websites of the candidates to learn more about them BEFORE you choose who you want to work with.
• Identify specific issues that you agree with the candidate on, and be prepared to explain in your paper why you chose to work with this person.

Participating in a Campaign (3 events minimum)

• Participation means actually getting involved (aka: donation and/or social media posts do not equal involvement).
• Once you get in touch with the campaign, you’ll need to work with them to figure out what you can do, and what you’ll be able to do.
• This may require you to do some or all of the following: knock on doors to discuss your candidate, make phone calls at a phone bank on behalf of your candidate, participate in discussions or forums about or with your candidate.

Documenting your participation

• The amount of time you work with your campaign, and the specific work you do with them should be documented. This may include photos, campaign materials, a letter from the campaign, etc..
• If you do not have evidence to support your participation in a campaign, your paper will not be accepted, and you’ll be required to complete the other midterm assignment.
• Each of your 3 events must be documented separately.

Reflecting on your experience

• You must submit a 2-3 page paper to turnitin.com no later than 10pm on 10/29 (same due date as the other option) that answers all of the following questions. The paper should be written in MLA format, but does not need to be argumentative – it can simply answer each question in paragraph form.
  • Why did you choose to work with this person? (be specific & include aspects of their platform/campaign)
  • What did you do for this campaign? (be specific and include evidence)
  • What did you learn about the political process through working with this campaign?