Canvassers work at winning over voters, one door at a time
By Matthew Bowers and Shawn Day
The Virginian-Pilot
© September 2, 2008
VIRGINIA BEACH- The door mat read "beware of dog." Behind the storm door barked Shakespeare and Bella - two Chihuahuas.
"Piece of cake," Myra Jennings, an experienced Democratic canvasser, told her rookie partner, Carolyn Wood, on Monday morning.
Lisa Nietling appeared at the door holding a coffee mug as the dogs yapped and scratched at the glass. "We're Republicans," she said.
"I usually wait until after the debates to make a decision," added her husband, Daniel.
"Thank you for keeping an open mind," Jennings said.
Labor Day has long been considered the traditional start of the election season - a quaint idea now, when presidential campaigns can run two years. Perhaps also quaint, but still considered important despite Web sites and TV ad blitzes, are supporters knocking on doors.
"The only people on the campaign that most people meet are us," said Jennings, 62, a retired middle-school science teacher.
On Saturday, Republicans Seamus Owens and John Woolard made a similar journey across the city.
They were among 40 or so Republican supporters, many in their teens or 20s, who met at U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake's campaign office on South Independence Boulevard.
The Democrats targeted all registered voters. The Republicans analyzed voting records to find high concentrations of "swing voters."
"If they vote every year, they're hard-core. You don't have to worry about them," Owens explained, walking through the Pocahontas Village neighborhood. People who vote less frequently are less likely to vote strictly along party lines, he said.
Since March, Republican staffers and volunteers have knocked on 50,000 doors in Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Hampton, and organizers aim for another 20,000 before the Nov. 4 election, said Corry Bliss, Drake's campaign manager.
When Owens knocked on a door hoping to talk to his first voter of the day, a man in a T-shirt opened, spotted a sticker promoting Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim Gilmore and bellowed, "Gilmore! All right!"
The man pledged his support for Drake and presumptive presidential nominee Sen. John McCain and, after accepting brochures, wished Owens and Woolard well.
"That was a softball," Owens conceded.
Owens, 24, is a paid staffer for Drake's campaign. Woolard, 16, is a First Colonial High School junior who won't be able to vote Nov. 4, but he didn't let that stop him from taking part in his first door-to-door canvass.
Woolard rang one bell and someone inside shouted, "Someone's at the door!" Seconds passed with no answer. He left a brochure and went next door.
Again, no answer. Another brochure.
"This is par for the course," Owens said.
Still, Woolard said later, pounding the pavement for someone you believe in is worth the effort. "You actually feel like you're doing something," he said. "This is how you win."
On Monday, Democrats Jennings and Wood hit the jackpot at their first stop in Lynnhaven Woods, just north of Lynnhaven Mall. Donna Ivins broke from spraying weeds to say her whole family was voting for Barack Obama.
"Put your stuff down and come along with us," Jennings said. "You've made my day."
Jesse Nimmo, another Obama supporter, agreed to post a yard sign but hadn't decided on the Senate or House races - and hadn't heard of Drake's Democratic challenger, Glenn Nye. This got noted on a clipboard.
Along with measuring support and registering voters, canvassers take the concerns and issues they hear on the street from voters on both political sides and pass them up the campaign chain.
Across the street, Sean McLaren said he supported McCain but took time to discuss issues and voting rationales. Jennings told him she appreciated his research - he even had read Obama's book.
"As a citizen, it's my duty," McLaren said. "You should never vote randomly."
It was the third time this election that his house had been canvassed by Democrats.
"It's a good thing," he said later. "It would influence someone who was on the fence and undecided. I think it's good for democracy."