Note: Kourtney Balsan was given the opportunity to interview McCain as she is an intern with the senator's campaign
Picturing a typical political campaign staff, one would imagine a room filled with older, staunchy white men. This is not the case with Arizona Sen. John McCain’s campaign staff in the quest for his sixth term. McCain’s campaign staff, and supporters, are instead a diverse group of young people and minorities.
“The greatness of America is that we are a nation of immigrants. Except for Native Americans, all of us have come from some place else. And I think it’s important to have these different communities come from all over the world, be part of our political process. And I am very pleased to see the enthusiasm that they have displayed,” McCain says.
McCain has over 150 college and high school interns working on his campaign, many of whom are from Arizona State University and Grand Canyon University. His entire campaign staff, including the campaign manager, is under the age of 36.
“They are very, very good at modern day communications… the Internet, Twitter, all of that,” McCain says. “I want to do everything I can to motivate younger Arizonans to be engaged in the political process, so that one of them someday, or more (younger Arizonans) will be United States Senators, congressmen, governors, and even the president.”
Although McCain is Republican, statistically millennials tend to associate with the liberal party due to social issues. Fifty percent of millennials identify as Democrat, while only 34 percent identify Republican.
Brenda Crawford, a Grand Canyon University student and McCain campaign intern, spends at least 15 hours a week volunteering for the long-time senator and is frustrated with millennials voting habits.
“They kind of go off of emotions and slogans instead of really educating themselves on the political process and issues. That frustrates me because I think we have a generation of really uninformed voters,” Crawford says.
Crawford interns for McCain not only because of the experience and opportunities it offers, but also because she thinks McCain is the best candidate running.
“I support John McCain because, for one, my uncle is getting healthcare from the VA. He was also in Vietnam, so to know that if he ever has an issue I can call McCain and he is going to make sure he is taken care of, is really comforting,” Crawford says. “I like his foreign policy, I think he has been a really tough critic of Obama, which we need. (McCain) does what is best for the country, I also like (McCain’s) support of the second amendment rights.”
Additionally, McCain recognizes the problems with the rising cost of tuition but wants students to remember that education and tuition is up to the state government. Even though there is no one right answer to the tuition debate, he believes the solution involves competition and alternative ways to receive degrees, such as online degrees and junior colleges.
“We should put publicity on some of these institutions that have this continuation of inflation associated with this cost of education,” McCain says. “We should not be saddling young people with debts that takes them years and years to pay off. It impacts their lives for years after they’re educated. We’ve got to put the brakes on the rising cost of education. It far outstrips the inflation. And so we are going to have to work hard on that.”
There are now more millennials of voting age than baby boomers, so their votes are important and can be greatly effective, yet often underestimated.
McCain’s primary rival, Kelli Ward, speculated that the millennials working for the McCain campaign are actually uninformed saying, “You see all of these young kids McCain has, they have no idea that what his voting record has been and what he has done. They’re enticed by the glitter of celebrity.”
Most of McCain’s supporters understand who he is, what he has done and what he stands for — and they like it.
“I don’t think (Kelli Ward’s comments) were a fair assessment of millennials. I’ve made my own opinion, I form my own opinions. I’ve done my reading and I’ve chosen Senator McCain because of his policy and expertise not because he is a ‘celebrity,’” says Alex Smith, an ASU student and intern with the campaign.
The votes of millennials are important to the McCain campaign, but it is just one piece of the election puzzle. Another influential voter group is that of Hispanics — a voting minority that is quickly becoming the majority in Arizona.
”Thirty percent of the population in Arizona is Hispanic,” McCain says. “That will rise over time to 50 percent of our population, and they are the entrepreneurs, the small business persons, the members of the military. They’re pro-life. They’re against government regulations, so everything about them aligns themselves, in my view, with our republican philosophy.”
On Feb. 19, the McCain Phoenix headquarters held a Hispanic phone bank where many prominent figures from the Latino community were excited to help McCain on his campaign.
Pastor Jose Gonzalez works in the Hispanic community and churches of Arizona. He not only participated in the community outreach phone bank, but also brought fellow pastors and friends to help. Pastor Gonzalez is a leader who expressed the importance of family values in a candidate.
“(McCain) has been doing a great job in the last few years,” Gonzalez says. “Not only that, but he kind of identifies with the Hispanic community in the values, the family values. To the Hispanic community, family values are so important.”
The Iranian-American community in Arizona is also passionate about participating in politics and some feel strongly that McCain should be reelected as Senator — so strongly that they come riding to the McCain headquarters in a “McCain Mobile,” a truck with McCain signs filling every inch of space topped with an American flag and an Arizona flag.
Mina Entezari is a designer and business owner in Scottsdale and is a member of the Iranian community of Arizona.
“In Iran, (young women) don’t have opportunities like you, that is why I came here. I was a human rights activist. That is why they arrested me. I was a political prisoner,” Entezari says.
Entezari was arrested as a teenager for being a women’s activist and spent seven years in prison in Tehran, Iran. She explained her time there as filled with physical torture and small confined spaces filled with tons of people. From high school students to pregnant women and grandmothers, all women were confined together.
Entezari shares her support for McCain and is a volunteer to help reach out to the public. She supports McCain because of his views of gender equality and human rights.
“He is defending strongly human rights, here and out of the U.S., especially in Iran,” Entezari says. “I like to support him because he is the voice of women too.”
The one culture that Sen. McCain hasn’t secured yet is the Native Americans. He has tried to negotiate projects that would benefit many citizens, including the Natives, but a few tribes are in disagreement with the Senator.
“With the Navajo and the Hopi, we are working on a water settlement which is very important. Unfortunately we thought we had it finished, and then there was a setback, but we are working on that,” McCain says.
Overall, the McCain reelection campaign is seemingly popular amongst millennials and different ethnicities, but the true test will be on election day. McCain expresses daily how grateful and honored he is to have such positive and amazing people, with unique backgrounds, support him.
“All these different communities that I have gotten to know over the years, just have been very very helpful, and it’s very heartwarming to go to events where they’re celebrating their culture and heritage and they’re including me in those celebrations,” McCain says.
Correction: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this article contained incorrect information regarding McCain's number of terms completed. This version has been updated with the correct information.
