I Ran for a Public Office I Didn’t Know Existed

I Googled it after I said yes.

I spent every weekend in January doing the same thing. I would wander the parking lot of the nearby Costco asking people if they were a registered Democrat or Independent and whether they would like to sign a petition to get retired NASA Astronaut Mark Kelly on the ballot of the US Senate.

Well, I’d do this until I was asked to leave. That would take about two hours.

As nerdy as it may be to say, it was exciting. I met some wonderful people, recruited a few volunteers, had a couple of good discussions, and only once got yelled at when a woman got six inches from my face and yelled, “Make America Great Again.” I told her to have a nice day.

Tangential side note: When canvassing in the middle of the day, the smell of Costco pizza will turn you into a small child in a Dicken’s novel asking for more porridge. It’s cruel how good it smells.

If there is one thing I have learned about volunteering for political campaigns it’s that the campaign will love you for it and they will keep your number on speed dial. This feels good.