Day 4: Dr. Huffmon, The Governor's Mansion, and Congressman Clyburn (02/20/2024)

This morning we had the pleasure of meeting our next guest in the lecture series: Dr. Scott Huffmon, the Director of the Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at Winthrop University -- the office responsible for the Winthrop Poll. He came to speak to us about political polling (the statistical kind, not the electoral kind!) and it was incredibly informative. We discussed how these polls are created and why, bias in question writing, how priming effects polling outcomes, and much more. As I stated in my last post, I love learning about statistics. When used properly and well, they're incredible tools to plan campaign strategy or just to understand how and why a certain base may vote the way they do, and can help predict outcomes in the future. 

We spent the rest of the morning touring the Governor's Mansion and it was GORGEOUS! Plus our bonus tour guide Mac (the First Dog of SC -- the Governor's dog) was an absolute delight. I included some beautiful pictures and some of the cool things we got to see. 

That afternoon we headed back to the SCDP  headquarters and had the oppurtunity to hear from Scott Harriford and Jalisa Washington Price who both worked on the Biden campaign in SC. Our group asked some great questions and the biggest piece of advice we took from them, especially if you're considering a career in politics, is to find your "why." Politics is an often thankless job but the work is important and if you can find your "why" it will keep your heart in it and can help manage the burnout many people face in this field. 

The highlight of this day: meeting Congressman Jim Clyburn. Hearing from someone with so much experience that is so highly respected in the political world was a true honor. He spent about 2 hours with us at the SCDP headquarters, first speaking to us about his experience and then just answering our questions. My favorite thing he told us, among all the amazing advice I took away, was "the real measure of adulthood is whether you can admit your mistakes and ask for forgiveness." I feel we often see in politics that pride can get it the way of true effective change and progress, but if you can learn to admit fault and grow from it, not only will you be better for it, but so will the community you serve and the people around you. We also discussed the idea of people avoiding uncomfortable topics and situations and he reminded us that we have "an obligation, a responsibility to step outside [our] comfort zone." As young people going into the political world we often face a LOT of uncomfortable areas whether that be somethign we don't feel prepared for or perhaps conversations that push the limits of personal beliefs. Either way we have to learn to embrace that, because frankly there's no avoiding it. 

That evening we gathered in the conference room back int he hotel to watch a livestream from the FDP back home about delegate selection for the Democratic National Convention while we completed some more work for the SCDP. I found the process and how we select delegates to be very interesting and I hope to one day attend the convention, perhaps as a delegate myself!