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Dylan, Jones, a sophomore from Wichita, spent his summer campaigning for Gene Suellentrop, a Kansas senate candidate
Sophomore spends summer on the campaign trail
▶ ANDREW ROSENTHAL
@Rosentrotter_
In late summer 2015, Dylan Jones, like many Jayhawks, found himself on Daisy Hill facing his first year of college. Like most, Jones wasn't quite sure where he was going, but he was excited for the paths his new adventure would take him on.
Jones found his home with the University group "College Republicans," a primarily conservative group of students that discuss and promote the Republican party on campus. Jones was also involved in Student Senate as a finance associate.
During the spring semester, Jones accepted an internship with State Representative Jerry Lunn, and this summer, he helped
campaign for Gene Suellenthrop, who was elected as the Republican nominee for Kansas State Senate District 27 in the Aug. 2 primary.
Toward the end of his first semester on campus, Jones attended an internship fair. Though he was studying economics and political science, he came in with an open mindset.
"I was looking toward something involving business and economics," Jones said. "When I met Jerry (Lunn), we hit it off and I found out I could receive credit for the internship. It was just something I couldn't turn down."
It was from shadowing and working with Lunn that Jones heard about Suellentrop's senate campaign in his hometown of Wichita, KS. Following the internship with Lunn, Jones
connected with Suellentrop and was hired for the summer.
"If someone would have told me on move-in day that I would get an internship at the Capitol, and then campaign for Gene, I would have probably called them crazy," Jones said.
For 12 to 14 hours a day, Jones's job on the campaign trail consisted of knocking on the doors of all registered Republican voters in the district and finding out the issues that concerned them, as well as rallying support for Suellentrop.
"I knew that we would be working very hard almost every day in 100 degree heat. Besides that, I didn't know what to really expect. I knocked on over 3,000 doors just by myself and each time someone different answered with something new to say," Jones said. "It took some time to develop expectations."
Suellentrop's campaign manager, Chase Blasi, said the day-to-day campaigning of a state race is different than that of a national race.
"Local elections impact the people far more than national and state elections," he said. "It is a lot of reaching out to family and friends, and direct face-to-face communication."
One challenge that the Suellentrop campaign faced was campaigning for an open seat in the state Senate. The current senator in the district, Les Donovan, held his seat for over two decades before announcing he would not seek reelection.
"Normally there is an incumbent privilege. With an
open seat, lots of people will challenge you," Blasi said. "This year is an anti-incumbent year in the presidential election. So it was the greatest asset for our campaign to not be an incumbent."
Unlike a large nation-wide presidential campaign, Jones has enjoyed connecting personally with the people he interacts with daily. He and several of his co-workers live in the district Suellentrop is campaigning for.
"My boss tells me that campaigning is like your first child," Jones said. "When you win, you love it for life. If you lost, you just lost your first child."
Blasi said the hard work of a campaign results in either great excitement or great sadness on Election Day.
"[The campaign workers] spent the last 2 months dedicated to campaigning in the 100 degree weather. It is usually a huge relief but involves a lot of high anxiety," Blasi said. "It all can be a huge success or a huge disappointment."
Jones and his coworkers were not disappointed. Suellentrop won the primary election by 105 votes, securing 51% of the votes over opponent Lori Graham, 4,045 to 3,946.
After working on the campaign, Jones said he has learned valuable lessons that can't be taught in the classroom; primarily: hard work pays off.
"This has all taught me that focus and motivation is all key," Jones said. "Half the battle is getting out the door and starting."