Inside campaigning efforts for Hillary Clinton in a red state

At a table in a back room of the Louisiana Democratic Office, Sheila Lewis wears a shiny button emblazoned with Hillary Clinton’s face and the acronym W.I.S.H.: Women in the South for Hillary.

“We are just wishing and hoping and praying for Hillary to be elected,” Lewis says with a laugh. She’s a former principal and a self-proclaimed “ball of fire.” She’s already booked her flight to Washington for the inauguration.

She’s one of many volunteers who phonebank for Hillary Clinton from this office, calling homes in the state and across the country to make the pitch for Clinton and help people register to vote. Her fellow volunteer, business manager Hollis Baker-Graves, recently spoke to an energetic 76-year-old woman in Orlando who wanted to know where to find the nearest rally.

The women around the table, who also include retired lobbyist Donna Mayeux and film producer Gisele Haralson, represent a small portion of the volunteers who have been working out of Baton Rouge.

“On any given day, it is incredibly diverse,” Louisiana Dems executive director Stephen Handwerk says of the men and women who volunteer. “We have senior citizens that come during the day to make phone calls. We have college kids that on the weekend give up their time to go and knock on doors and make phone calls. It’s African-American, it’s Caucasian, it’s Latino, it’s gay, it’s straight. That’s probably what’s most exciting about this. … This election has really brought people together.”

Trump’s often polarizing rhetoric, Handwerk says, has mobilized voters from both parties to rally behind Clinton. But for voters like these women—and Handwerk, who was raised by a single mother—
Clinton’s historic shattering of the glass ceiling drums up their support.

“I was at one of the first [Equal Rights Amendment] conventions here in the state,” says Mayeux, who at age 69 is one year older than Clinton. “It never passed, but there were a thousand women in Independence Hall … I was in my 30s then, so the people who really carried that on their backs are all gone now, but they would have been so proud. And who would have thought I’d live long enough to see a woman actually be able to run for president and win?”

Lewis believes Louisiana voters will connect with Clinton most on three key issues: healthcare for

the uninsured and underinsured, equal opportunity and access to a quality education for all children and allegiance to our veterans and military families. Though Southern states have a history of going red, these volunteers refuse to write off Louisiana’s chances of voting Democrat.

“Louisiana spoke out loud and clear when we elected John Bel Edwards,” Haralson says of Bobby
Jindal’s Democrat successor. “Our state and the voters here were looking for something different, and that’s where we’re at right now. You surely cannot overlook that.”

Riding the momentum of a newly elected Democratic governor, these volunteers believe that more moderate, liberal and left-of-center voters will turn out to vote for Hillary Clinton in November. Much of the party’s work involves registering college students to vote in Louisiana, which could give Clinton a boost from younger voters.

It’s still a long shot, given the state’s voting record, but these vol­unteers aren’t ready to surrender.

This story was originally published in the October issue of 225 Magazine.