“There’s nothing more rewarding than working on the New Hampshire primary,” said Geoff Ward, field coordinator for Gephardt who also worked for Al Gore ’69 in his failed bid for the presidency in 2000.
Ward and other representatives said they feel that Harvard students are particularly well-informed about the political process and are effective campaign workers.
“Harvard students have the aptitude to do this sort of work. They know what they are doing, ask real, in-depth questions, and are looking at the whole picture here,” Ward said.
He also assured potential campaign volunteers that they would find chances for real involvement.
“You can move up quickly once you get involved,” said Ward. “I’m not going off to get coffee—I’m involved in the real thing.”
Rob McCarthy ’02, who worked on former New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen’s unsuccessful senate campaign and is currently the deputy state director of Kerry’s campaign, echoed Ward’s encouragement to get involved.
“I’ve learned more than I ever thought I could,” McCarthy said. “The best thing for me is to see the click in people’s heads when they hear about an issue, it’s such a cool effect.”
—Staff writer Yingzhen Zhang can be reached at zhang9@fas.harvard.edu.