Thomas Bartlett, a fourth-year in social work and education and Bernie supporter, and Catherine Feldkamp, a first-year in political science and Warren supporter, answer audience questions at a presidential candidate panel Wednesday. Credit: Sarah Szilagy | Lantern Reporter
After three Democratic candidates for president dropped out of the race in a week, student voters gathered to determine who is right for them among the last ones standing.
Ohio State student organizations Young Democratic Socialists at Ohio State and College Democrats hoped to answer that question Wednesday at their “Presidential Realignment,” featuring speakers from BuckeyesforWarren and Students for Bernie at Ohio State. Daija Kidd, a third-year in African American and African studies and sociology and co-chair of YDS, said that in the last days before the primaries, it was important to hold an event for people to discuss candidates’ similarities and differences.
“We think it’s our civil duty to create a space where we can have (supporters of) both progressive candidates talk to each other and create these connections,” Kidd said.
After 14 states held primary elections on Super Tuesday, former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders emerged leading the bid for the Democratic nomination. According to Politico’s election results, at the time of publication, Biden received 541 national delegates Tuesday and Sanders received 468. Their total delegate counts are up to 595 and 528, respectively, according to NPR. To get the Democratic nomination, a candidate needs 1,991 delegates.
While Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren failed to win any state’s majority of delegates on Super Tuesday, Catherine Feldkamp, a first-year in political science and representative of BuckeyesforWarren, said she still supports the Democratic candidate.
“I know Super Tuesday did not go super well for Elizabeth Warren. I am aware of that, but she’s still in the race. She hasn’t dropped out,” Feldkamp said.
Warren dropped out of the race at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday.
No representative for Biden was there to speak at the event, as there is no Biden student organization on campus. The event featured presentations from Sanders and Warren supporters on their respective policies. Though the two candidates share similar policies, supporters had personal reasons for their choices.
Thomas Bartlett, a fourth-year in social work and education and treasurer of Students for Bernie, said he supports Sanders’ plan to make public universities tuition-free. Bartlett attends Ohio State on a Pell Grant, a nonrepayable grant given to students who demonstrate “exceptional financial need” determined by their Expected Family Contribution, according to the Federal Student Aid website. Because his EFC is $0, Bartlett said the grant pays his full cost of attendance.
Bartlett said he values Sanders’ plan because many of his friends could not afford college, and they were not “poor enough” to qualify for financial aid.
“Am I blessed to have been poor enough to get an education?” Bartlett asked. “I was given an opportunity, but getting that opportunity required a level of suffering that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
Feldkamp said Warren’s legal experience, as an attorney specializing in bankruptcy law and developer of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, gave her plans legitimacy. She and Sanders both support universal health care, but while Sanders advocates for immediate change, Warren supports an incremental shift toward a single-payer system — to be completed by her third year in office, according to her campaign website.
Feldkamp said health care reform is important to her.
“I personally was diagnosed with hemophilia at the age of 15, and if my mom wasn’t a public school teacher with excellent insurance, I wouldn’t be able to go to college right now because I’d be in so much debt,” Feldkamp said. “So I think it’s really important that we shouldn’t have to decide between getting our medical care and doing something else. I shouldn’t have to have $80,000 in medical debt by the time I turn 18.”
BuckeyesforPete originally planned to have a representative at the event but did not participate since Pete Buttigieg ended his campaign Sunday. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said in a speech Sunday night that he felt the best way to ensure a Democratic president was to “step aside and help bring our party and our country together.”
“Us being on that panel wouldn’t amount to much because the goal was to learn about different candidates and for the audience to hear about the leaders on campus and their perspectives as to why their candidate would be the best one for president,” Alejandro Duque, a second-year in city and regional planning and president of BuckeyesforPete, said.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg joined Buttigieg by dropping out Monday and Wednesday, respectively. The three moderate candidates endorsed Biden for the nomination, leaving Warren and Sanders to split progressive votes.
Kidd said that aside from progressive ideals, she felt the groups were also connected by the goal of having a Democratic nominee — no matter who it is — win the presidency in November.
“At the end of the day, there’s a common enemy,” Kidd said. “You know, even though we might not all have the same policies or whatever, it’s still valuable to have that conversation.”
Ohio’s primaries are March 17. Students can check their polling location at https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/toolkit/polling-location/#gref.
