What Does It Take to Elect Our First Female President? Doritos, Spin Class, and Selfies
We're still more than year away from the 2020 Presidential election, but, oh hey, the Democratic primary race is stacked with more women than ever before. And for the millennial campaign staffers working around the clock to get their candidates to the Oval, the idea that a woman could be president is… totally obvious.
Cosmo talked to three rising young female political operatives to hear what it’s like to work for three of the standout female candidates currently attempting to make history.
Joyce Kazadi, 29
Director of Advance for Senator Kamala Harris
How she got the gig
After doing advance work-AKA setting up events and logistics-for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, Joyce had been working at a media startup until she got a call from Maya Harris, Kamala’s sister and a former Clinton adviser. Soon she was helping organize Harris’s presidential announcement in Oakland, California. “It was a no-brainer,” she says. “I saw her in the Supreme Court hearings with Brett Kavanaugh, and she was brilliant.”
What she actually does all day
She spends half her time at Harris’s Baltimore campaign headquarters and the other half traveling the country. If the senator has four events planned in South Carolina, for example, Joyce will dispatch four different teams to figure out things like: From which direction will she walk into the room? How will the lights shine on her face? Where are the bathrooms?
When she’s traveling with Harris herself, “She reads recipes. I sleep,” says Joyce. They usually grab some Doritos for the plane (Harris prefers Nacho-flavored).
Legit amazing moment
At Senator Harris’s launch event in Oakland, Joyce had her first one-on-one time with the senator. “We were going over her speech and I just kept telling her she was going to do great. I felt like I had to calm her down. But I didn’t know her well-I didn’t know her at all! I put my hand on her shoulder and said, ‘Everything’s gonna be great. The people are going to wait for you. You let me know when you’re ready.’ Then she went on stage and she killed it.”
Her best career advice
“Always have a backup plan. I have a backup plan for my backup plan.” On a recent trip to Iowa, when Senator Harris’s campaign event was cancelled thanks to a snowstorm, Joyce wrangled Harris and ten staffers for a casual, impromptu dinner at the hotel restaurant, where they shot the shit. “Harris was telling us about when she was in Iowa campaigning for Barack Obama in 2008,” Joyce says. “To be sitting in Iowa, trying to elect the first black woman president while she’s telling her story of working for Obama… It was surreal.”
Why working for a woman rules
“My mom was a single mother for most of my life, so I’ve always jumped at the chance to be around strong women. They energize me.”
Sara Rodriguez, 27
Director of Content for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
How she got the gig
Through Twitter-no, seriously. A former professional dancer, Sara was working for a state senator in New York when she saw a tweet from Gillibrand staffer Emmy Bengtson. “She posted a photo of Kirsten working out and wrote, ‘It’s the only gun show loophole she wouldn’t close,’” remembers Sara. So she whipped up a cool graphic using those words and tweeted it back to Emmy. Emmy responded, “OMG SARA.” Sara ended up creating more graphics for Gillibrand’s social media; eventually, Emmy asked her to interview for a full-time job on the campaign. She did, duh.
What she actually does all day
Create and post content to Gillibrand’s social platforms. (That educational post you saw on Insta about her reproductive rights agenda? Yeah, that was Sara.) “My job is as close to 24/7 as it can be,” Sara says. “There’s nothing about social media that is ever on pause.”
Legit amazing moment
Def that time she tagged along to Senator Gillibrand’s 6:30 a.m. spin class in New Hampshire. “Oh my god, she killed it,” Sara says. “She’s super competitive. Right after it ended, she was asking everyone what their mileage was.”
A post shared by Sara Rodriguez (@sararrodriguez_) on May 24, 2019 at 8:36am PDT
Her best career advice
Be open to new experiences. Since this is Sara’s first time working on a campaign, basically everything is new, which, TBH, makes it more exciting. “I enjoy the pressure of a job like this,” she says. “If something has to be done by 10, I’m like, oh yeah? I’m going to get it done by nine. And at end of every day I just think, wow I can’t believe this is real.”
Why working for a woman rules
Sara has been low-key obsessed with Gillibrand since she was studying dance at the University of Utah. “Back then she was already talking about things that nobody else was really talking about, most notably sexual assault and harassment,” Sara remembers. Sara had been raped as a teenager, and the #metoo movement was helping her reckon with her past. “Gillibrand speaking out helped me confront my own story,” says Sara. “So when I heard rumors she was running, I thought, I will do whatever I can to help make this happen.”
Gabrielle Farrell, 28
Traveling Press Secretary for Senator Elizabeth Warren
How she got the gig
Gabrielle’s first job in politics was working for Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. When Senator Warren endorsed him in his 2017 re-election race, she got close to Warren’s team-and they eventually invited her to join them.
What she actually does all day
Travel. A lot. But whether she’s in Iowa or New Hampshire, her mornings start with a quick workout with the campaign's other gym rats. Then she’ll get in a van or on a plane, read the news, and help manage the media for anywhere from two to four events per day, which can include coordinating interviews for Warren with several local news outlets. “On the way to events, I take a few minutes to share newsworthy items with Warren and update her on who she’ll be talking to,” Gabrielle says. “After we wrap up with her interviews, I’ll check in with all the journalists to make sure they have what they need.” Then she’ll hang around while Warren takes selfies with supporters. Like a lot of selfies. “She never says no!”
Her best career advice
Seize the moment. Back in May, Gabrielle and the Warren team were visiting Burlington, Iowa when a tornado warning hit. They sought shelter in an event space. To distract herself, “I turned to the senator and I asked her quickly for a performance review,” says Gabrielle. “Like, just in the middle of all this. There was nothing else to do, right? So I said, ‘How am I doing? Am I best serving your needs?’” Warren responded with thoughtful feedback. “She doesn’t know this, but it really helped calm me down,” says Gabrielle.
Legit amazing moment
During a recent visit to Cleveland, Mississippi, Warren and her staffers went on a neighborhood housing walk to meet people in the community. “We came across a man who was sitting alongside the street and he was homeless,” says Gabrielle. Warren shook his hand and explained that she was there to talk about how federal government should invest more in housing. At the end of the conversation he said he would vote for Warren. “These are the people who get overlooked,” says Gabrielle. “And she took the time and moment to speak with him. That’s something I’ve been carrying with me every single day.”
Why working for a woman rules
“As a woman in politics, and as a black woman, you are always underestimated. But you power through and show people you have as much a right to be here as anyone else. I feel that Warren embodies that experience.”
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