Help Me Find People

February 6, 2008 2:58 PM

How can I find and approach supporters of one of the Democratic candidates in a medium sized town in Ohio (about 25,000 people) in order to interview and possibly film them?

I would like to find people that are outside of my personal group of friends and demographic. I am late twenties and work at a college but would like to find older women and blue collar workers. What is the best way to approach or find people who support a particular candidate without just randomly walking up to people in Wal-Mart and asking them (and therefore possibly getting beat up)? Does anyone have any experience doing something like this? How do journalists find and interview people across broad demographics? Ideas that work the quickest are the best. Thanks.

posted by billysumday to society & culture (8 comments total)

You could try posting on craigslist, put up some flyers at local supermarkets etc.

The mall may be a good place to go and hopefully you won't get beat up.

Good luck.
posted by imjosh at 3:17 PM on February 6, 2008

If the candidate has an office near there you could ask volunteers on the campaign to participate. Also all campaign contributions are public information, you could see if any contributors are near the town.
posted by flaneuse at 3:29 PM on February 6, 2008

Reporters pretty much do walk up to people on the street or in stores and ask questions. Especially those "man on the street" things.

Not that I necessarily recommend it (the one time I got forced to do it was Not Fun), but they seriously do do that. You generally don't get beat up, just blown off if they aren't interested.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:10 PM on February 6, 2008

It's Obama, isn't it?
posted by smackfu at 4:33 PM on February 6, 2008

Gravel.
posted by billysumday at 4:49 PM on February 6, 2008

It might be a small town, but the county certainly has a Democratic or Republican Party office. You might check with them to see if they can put you in touch with people.
posted by mmascolino at 6:12 PM on February 6, 2008

Take a look at bumper stickers? "If You Can Read This in English, Thank a Vet!" or "Choose Life--Your Mom Did" or "Welcome to America--Now Speak English!" might be a clue for you to keep walking. "Visualize World Peace" or any kind of NPR-related sticker might be sign for you to knock on their door.
posted by John of Michigan at 6:56 PM on February 6, 2008

You can try Fund Race to identify donors in your area that have donated money to a specific candidate. It will at least help you identify them, see where they live, and for many what they do for a living.

Now, approaching them and talking to them is a completely different issue....
posted by tuxster at 1:28 PM on February 7, 2008