Day 1: Aiken County, Black History Month Parade, and Nikki Haley (02/17/2024)

On our first day we travelled out to Aiken, SC to meet some of their party leaders at the Aiken County Democratic Party HQ. Theresa, vice chair, and Pete, lead canvasser, were lovely hosts! They walked us through what the primary election looked like in their county, the demographic breakdown of the county, and the things they did to increase voter engagement. With the recent move to South Carolina it was also the First in the Nation primary for the Democrats! This made this a very important primary despite it being a non competitive primary, as Joe Biden is the incumbent. 

After we left the Aiken DP HQ to attend their local Black History Month parade! Two of my fellow RTWH interns, Steven and Nathan, were able to join the NAACP in their section of the parade. We walked down a couple blocks and found a nice spot to watch the parade. It was an incredible experience to see a small southern town celebrate black history. I included some of my favorite photos from that event below! After the parade was over a local news outlet interviewed a few of interns -- Abigail, Sasha, and Tyler -- about their thoughts on the parade and the importance of holding community events like it. 

Once the interview concluded we met up with the rest of the interns and headed off to a rally in Irmo for Nikki Haley. It was held at a beautiful little park. As we arrived we met up with the interns for the Haley campaign and asked them about their first day on the job. We gathered our stickers, pins, and signs and took our seats in the front row. We had arrived pretty early so we had some time to talk with the other attendees and with each other about our expectations for the event. Just after 6pm Haley finally came out and spoke to the crowd. While I don't personally agree with all her policies she did have some interesting things to say and I will she she gave a marvelous speech. Following the speech we were all able to get pictures with her, which was very gracious of Haley. A few of us also got the chance to talk with her son, Nalin, who is also in university right now and is following his mom on the campaign trail this semester (for credit too!). He was really cool and had a lot of interesting takes on the whole thing, as someone from the inside of not only the campaign but also the family. 

The group at the Aiken County DP office! 

Laura and I outside the Aiken County DP office!  

The Black History Month Parade! I love a good marching band and these kids were 

incredible!

Nikki Haley speaking at her rally in Irmo! No zoom on that pic -- we were that close! 

Me and Nikki Haley after the rally!