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Clinton And Sanders Find Dedicated Volunteers In Wisconsin

Backers Shared Merits Of Their Chosen Candidates While Phone-Banking In Milwaukee

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Photo courtesy of Eric Marsch

Wisconsin volunteers for Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have been reaching out to voters ahead of Thursday night’s debate in Milwaukee. The volunteers say they’re partly motivated by issues, and partly by the potential transformative power of the two contenders.

The Milwaukee County Democratic Party has opened its office to volunteers for both candidates to run phone banks, as long as they bring their own phones.

Last Wednesday night, it was team Sanders making calls. Eric Marsch was among a group making calls to Nevada and South Carolina, which have contests coming up later this month. Marsch is a software engineer for a large corporation, who said he likes that Sanders isn’t accepting a lot of corporate dollars.

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“He’s trying to get the money out of politics,” Marsch said. “He’s trying to end the corruption. He’s trying to make the economy work for all of us.”

Chauntel Robertson, who’s a social services case manager, said she likes the Vermont senator’s promise to try to expand health care beyond the Affordable Care Act.

“So if Bernie Sanders were to get what he would like for health care, by expanding that, people wouldn’t have to worry about their health care related to their job.”

The Sanders volunteers said if their guy loses his current momentum, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton captures the Democratic nomination, they will support her, though food service manager Morgan Ekern said his backing of Clinton may not be as enthusiastic.

“I tell my mom that I will, and I likely will, just because of my ideology overall,” he said. “But, you know, I don’t think she’s the ideal candidate for what I’d like to see out of government.”

By Saturday morning, the office space had been turned over to Clinton backers making calls focused on getting people to rallies or other events linked to Thursday’s debate.

Phone bank volunteer Mary Ann Getse, a retired social worker, said Clinton supports children.

“I’ve always been a believer in her, ever since her first involvement with the Children’s Defense Fund,” said Getse. “I’ve just seen her as a strong woman who has dedicated her life, really, to the causes that are important to me.”

Meghan Christiansen, a communications consultant, also said she thinks Clinton is dedicated to children. And she argued that compared to Sanders, Clinton could accomplish things.

“You know, I know people have used the term ‘moderate’ versus ‘progressive,’ in sort of a derogatory way, but I think ultimately, you have to have policies that can actually get done,” she said.

But just like the Sanders supporters, the Clinton volunteers said they would back whoever the Democratic nominee is in the fall.

“Absolutely,” said financial planner Jerry Lynn. “As Sen. Sanders said, on either of their worst days, they’re infinitely better than any of the Republicans.”

According to Marquette University pollster Charles Franklin, grassroots efforts like phone banks may help Democrats close a current mobilization gap with the GOP.

“On the Democratic side, it means that there are more voters to be mobilized by the campaigns, contacting them and trying to get them out,” he said.

Franklin added that the Sanders-Clinton debate in Milwaukee may get more Wisconsin Democrats focused on presidential politics.