Oberlin students campaign for candidates in Virginia

OBERLIN — With the general election less than a month away, Oberlin students are working the phones to try and turn the Virginia Statehouse blue. Students met in the Mudd Center to call and campaign for three Virginia Democrats; incumbents Wendy Gooditis and Danica Roem, and challenger Dan Helmer who is trying to unseat a Republican incumbent. Oberlin student Emma Bally is a member of the Oberlin College Democrats and a fellow for the Human Rights Campaign. She said she organized with the college group to help campaign Thursday afternoon so they could help influence the campaigns in Virginia. "We really want to get the seats to stay blue or flip blue," Bally said. One of the callers was Oberlin student Grace Anderson. She said in 2017 the state elections in Virginia were close, with one of the elections even coming down to a tie. Republican David Yancy won his seat by a tie-breaking drawing. With the 2020 census coming up, and redistricting and the possibility of gerrymandering on the horizon, she said it was an important time and place to campaign. The Human Right Campaign (HRC) describes itself on its website as the largest civil rights organization for the LGTBQ community. Bally said the HRC is working to support candidates who support equality not just national, but locally. "A lot of change happens at the state level," Bally said. Along with helping to change results in elections, Bally said the calls are also part of driving voter engagement. While the calls are to support specific candidates, she said the beginning of the call is structured to talk to voters and make sure they're aware of the election. "Regardless of party, I just want to mobilize people to the polls and get them to vote," Bally said. Contact Sean McDonnell at (440) 329-7148 or smcdonnell@chroniclet.com