Heath Haussamen / NMPolitics.net
John McCain, shown here in Las Cruces during his 2008 presidential campaign.
COMMENTARY: Working on campaigns is a truly unique experience. You truly become a family with the people you spend time around. For those couple of intense months, the candidate, the volunteers and interns become as close relationships as you’d get from school.
No candidate I’ve worked with has embraced this family-like aspect more than Senator John McCain. Any person who has had the pleasure of meeting and breaking bread with the senator knows he’s a man who genuinely cares about the people he meets. It would be understandable if Senator McCain, being as well known and important as he was, couldn’t make time to keep track of his staff and volunteers. However, this was far from the case.
Shortly after I started working in Prescott for the senator, my Uncle Alfredo passed away. I was alone in a new state with no friends or family and was very sad. The next day, both the senator and the campaign manager reached out to me on the phone and even told me a joke to try to lift my spirits. This attention to detail by the senator was no one-off event. Every week the senator asked us to give him the names of volunteers and interns he could personally call and thank for giving their time to him.
Courtesy photo
Samuel LeDoux
Even the small group of college and high school students I had volunteering for me in Pojoaque, New Mexico got a call from the senator. The senator was extremely grateful and humble, a rarity in politics these days.
Throughout the night of his passing, I’ve seen several tributes to this amazing man I had the pleasure of knowing. However, many have had one disturbing trend: Many say they don’t make people like the senator anymore.
I can tell you, having been with the man, that he would not have agreed with that statement. Senator McCain was incredibly optimistic about the American people and their ability to do amazing things. I know many of you wish to honor the man. The best way to do that is to not lose hope, to have the courage to stand for what you believe in. That’s what the senator did his whole life and what he’d want those he inspired to do.
Fight for what you believe, even if it’s unpopular. Embrace your inner Maverick, stand strong in the face of adversity, and don’t let those who disagree with you get you down. Get involved in your community, politics, church or something bigger than yourself. That’s the best way to honor John.
Tonight is a hard night for me, as my hero has died, but I know he’d want me to keep plugging away and move forward and do my best to try and change the world.
Rest easy senator, and thank you for your service.
Samuel LeDoux is a George Washington University graduate student studying political management. He formerly held field positions on the Susana Martinez 2014 gubernatorial campaign and John McCain’s 2016 Senate campaign. He’s also the former chairman of the Republican Party of Santa Fe County and was a delegate for New Mexico at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Agree with his opinion? Disagree? NMPolitics.net welcomes your views. Learn about submitting your own commentary here.