Quad City Times: First Vote

By Tushar Rae

First Vote

Kevin Trahan, a freshman from Bettendorf High School, did not miss an opportunity to get his question answered.

“It seems like there is more talk about the Democrats as opposed to the Republicans. Why do you think that is?” Trahan asked at a workshop just hours before five Democrats met in a presidential debate in Davenport Thursday. “Are the Democrats more exciting?”

Trahan is a participant in First Voters, a group of high school and college journalists who will be voting in their first presidential election next year. It’s a group organized by the Quad-City Times.

Thursday’s workshop gave Trahan the experts who could answer his question, including Froma Harrop, a nationally syndicated columnist whose work appears in the Times.

“I think the (Democrats) are because of Hillary Clinton,” Harrop said. “They have found a larger-than-life figure in her, especially for the Republicans.”

Mary Beth Cahill, campaign manager for former presidential candidate John Kerry, said it appears Democrats are happy with their leading candidates, but Republican voters seem largely dissatisfied with their pool.

“The Republicans are looking for the mythic candidate, and he has not filed papers yet,” Cahill said.

Harrop and Cahill were joined on the panel by Nancy LeaMond, group executive officer for social impact at AARP, a lead sponsor of Thursday night’s debate.

The focus of the presidential forum was health care and financial security, issues that seem to target a population older than the First Voters, yet LeaMond said one of the aims of the forum was to engage a younger audience.

LeaMond said the First Voters will have to wrestle with issues such as Medicare.

LeaMond also found herself answering for the makeup of the forum.

John Stengel, a senior at Moline High School, asked one of the bluntest questions of the workshop.

“With the importance of Iowa, are Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel not vital in this forum?” he asked.

LeaMond said both candidates were given the opportunity to participate, but they failed to meet the criteria, which included having paid staff and an office in Iowa.

“We want to hear from candidates who have made an investment in Iowa,” LeaMond said.

The panel also discussed the importance of Iowa in the primary process and electing a president.

“[Iowans] do a very good job of vetting the candidates,” Harrop said.

Cahill said the Iowa caucuses provide an opportunity for candidates who are short on funds to gain political traction. The caucuses also provide independent groups with a strong voice, Cahill said.

“Primaries are where it is possible for outside groups to inject their issues and get answers,” Cahill said.