Progressive Democrat Marie Newman has been reaching out to people in the community during the last few months. On a regular basis, she has been hearing from activists and residents about what they need from their representative in Washington, Outreach Manager Nick Uniejewski said.

Newman is running for the district three congressional seat for the second time against Representative Dan Lipinski who has been in office for the past 15 years. In 2018, Newman lost to Lipinski by only 2% of the vote.

The number one reason that Newman is running again is for the affordability of life, which includes issues such as climate change, healthcare and income inequality, Uniejewski said.

“All of [the issues that Marie is fighting for], they affect all of us in many ways but especially things like the climate, that will affect young people the most,” Uniejewski said.

Newman’s team primarily consists of young adults and teenagers which is visible when someone walks into the campaign office in Countryside.

“Young people should really get involved for a number of reasons because campaigns are exciting,” Uniejewski said. “You can really feel the momentum behind you when you are volunteering. It gives you a purpose and that is kind of why I got involved.”

LT student Jaden Ownby ‘20 decided to get involved with Newman’s campaign when her mom showed her a Facebook post by Newman that said they were looking for volunteers and interns.

“We are the leaders of tomorrow basically so I feel like it is important to get involved at a younger age,” Ownby said. “Many teenagers believe that their voice isn’t heard and I think that getting involved in politics is a great way to get your voice heard.”

Ownby’s role on the campaign includes going door-to-door to spread the message of what Newman is interested in doing and to collect signatures to get Newman on the ballot, Ownby said.

“I also do phone banking which is when you call people and talk to them about Marie and invite them to events that she is going to,” Ownby said. “We just try to outreach to the community to get them involved with Marie and let them know who she is.”

LT student Sophia Tarasuk ‘20 also volunteers for the campaign.

“Jaden is the one who told me about [the opportunity],” Tarasuk said. “They have karaoke Thursdays and she said I should come and that is how I got started.”

Karaoke Thursdays consist of a few hours of making phone calls to about 60 numbers to let people in the community know about upcoming events and information about Newman, followed by karaoke for fun, Tarasuk said.

Tarasuk and Ownby also participate in neighborhood parades to support Newman’s campaign.

“Before, I wasn’t really that interested in politics and I didn’t really follow politics,” Tarasuk said. “But now I care more and I have more of an opinion and my own viewpoints based off of [Newman’s] values and her opponent’s.”

Newman’s opponent, Congressman Lipinski is interested in boosting American manufacturing, fighting for fair trade, supporting seniors’ and more. During his time in congress, Lipinski has authored almost 20 laws, according to his campaign’s website. The laws include initiatives that improve American manufacturing jobs, protect the environment, fight climate change, empower victims of sexual assault, drive American technological innovation, honor veterans and protect consumers.

Lipinski’s campaign was contacted in regards to whether students have volunteered for them but we have not received a response.