Amy Kotwani

Kotwani, who interned with Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) is from St. Joseph, Mo., and graduated with honors from the University of Missouri-Columbia in December 2003.

13/2/2004 - 14/2/2004
I never actually thought I’d help with a political campaign. After all, Indian people are doctors and hotel owners, right? Since I’ve been in D.C., I have taken advantage of almost every opportunity put in front of me. So when I heard about the opportunity for Congressional staff to head to Kentucky to help Ben Chandler win a Congressional seat, I decided to go and see what happens. Friday (Feb. 13) evening, we met at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters for a rally to get us pumped for the next few days. We spent all night on the bus and arrived at the hotel around 5:00 a.m. After breakfast and a quick shower, we divided into our pre-assigned teams. We spent the whole day canvassing, or knocking on doors, encouraging people to vote. By noon, we were all wide-awake and energetic. We got a break in the afternoon to watch the University of Kentucky basketball game. We also didn’t want to knock on doors during the game. In the evening, the DCCC held a banquet and party for the “Kentucky Crusaders.”

15/2/2004 Today (Sunday) we got to sleep in since many people would be at church instead of at their homes. We did more canvassing today, but I left early because I was not feeling well.

16/2/2004 Since I got sick on Sunday, I spent Monday at the hotel room watching television and eating Saltines. I went to the Election Day meeting that night in the hotel ballroom, and as they told everyone the total number of doors the volunteers had knocked on, I cheered along with everyone else, although I was a bit jealous because I did not have the opportunity to contribute that day.

Election Day Tuesday (Feb. 18) started at 5 a.m., but I was well rested from the day before. Our team’s morning activity was visibility. We stood on a street corner right in front of the University of Kentucky sign, and we held up posters that said ‘Ben Chandler for Congress… Protecting Bluegrass Families.’ Visibility was my favorite activity of my four days of campaign experience. It’s a really nice feeling when people honk, wave and shout “Chandler for Congress” from their automobiles as they drive by. It’s like the camaraderie you feel when you, as a part of a crowd, cheer for your favorite team at a sporting event. Visibility ended as the morning rush hour faded, and then we spent the rest of the day canvassing, until the polls closed at 6 p.m. By today, some of the people whose doors I had knocked on said that they had been contacted in person or on the phone about voting a few times already. Some people were friendly. Some people weren’t very nice. By 6 p.m., we had been out for 13 hours, but our work was finally done! We went to one of the polling sites to get the results, and we all kept calling each other to get totals as we headed back to the hotel. Before all the precincts had reported, the totals looked good for us. At the hotel bar, the volunteers anxiously crowded around a few televisions to wait for the final totals. Every time new precincts reported and the totals were updated, we all cheered because Chandler was ahead. Once the final totals were in, I forgot I was tired, and I was energized and happy that I had made a little bit of difference. Ben Chandler came to the DCCC victory party at our hotel. It was nice to meet the man we had worked so hard for all weekend.
A week or so later, we went to Ben Chandler’s swearing-in on the House floor. Since we had gone to Chandler’s reception before the swearing-in, we got to sit with Chandler’s family and friends. On the way to the reception, I ran into a friend I had known when I was an undergrad student at the University of Missouri. I hadn’t seen him in three or four years. It turns out he was Chandler’s deputy campaign manager, and he would be serving as temporary scheduler for the newly-elected Congressman. I know everyone always says it’s a small world, but every time something like that happens it surprises me.
Before I came to D.C., I never really thought about running for an elected position. I’m starting to change my mind. Going to Kentucky gave me some beginner campaign experience, and I can see myself helping with a campaign or running for office in the future.