Andrew Gall is tired of repetitive talking points, tired of unequal justice for special interest groups and tired of status quo politics.
So, on Friday, Feb. 19, the AU graduate student filed his paperwork to run in September’s Congressional primary for Maryland’s fifth district against Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the Democratic Majority leader of the House of Representatives.
Gall is in his second year of earning a Master’s of Public Policy at the School of Public Affairs, and he also works part-time as a graduate assistant. At 27 years old, Gall will run for Congress at the same age at which Aaron Schock, R-Ill., of the 18th district in central Illinois took the oath of office and became the youngest current member of the House of Representatives in 2009.
Gall’s opponent, Hoyer, who has held office in the House since 1981, is 70-years-old and serves as the House majority leader.
Gall said that the idea that he could run for public office has been building for a few months, but when a friend who was 32 years old passed away from a heart attack in the summer of 2009, he was spurred to action.
“It just sort of got me thinking about what I wanted to do with my life and sort of not putting off things I can do today,” Gall said.
The chances of postponing his campaign until after he gets his degree is very slim, he added.
“Why not now? There is this palpable frustration with how the system works,” Gall said. “As the youngest member of Congress, I would have a unique platform ... [I] will, as the youngest member of Congress, have the ability to speak out and be heard in ways that [I] wouldn’t if [I were] an average member of Congress.”
Gall first experienced campaigning when he volunteered for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008. The experience taught him the importance of civic engagement, he said.
“All types of people from middle-schoolers through senior citizens [were] helping out and volunteering,” Gall said. “Seeing democracy at work ... definitely had an impact on my decision to run.”
Gall’s campaign strategy will heavily involve the use of social media, he said.
His campaign strategy will involve “the same sort of community organizing that we did on the Obama campaign, so knocking on doors, calling people, making use of social media,” Gall said.
Gall posted a Facebook fanpage for his campaign on Feb. 25. A few hours later, he already had over 50 fans, he said. As of press time, there were 114 members in the group.
Gall said he has already recruited several volunteers for his campaign.
“As far as staff goes, I won’t have the resources that a lot of more traditional campaigns have. I will have to rely on 100 percent student staff,” he said.
Tim Trautman, an undergraduate sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, worked with Gall on the Obama campaign and immediately agreed to be a volunteer when Gall approached him about his congressional campaign.
“[Gall is] a really great guy and a wonderful leader,” Trautman said. “His dedication to his degree in public policy at AU really shows his character.”
Trautman supports Gall’s emphasis on separating money from politics.
“It’s one of the things I’m concerned about, and it’s something each and every one of use should be concerned about,” Trautman said. “The people with the greatest amount of money shouldn’t be the people influencing politics the most. It should be everybody … that’s what America is all about.”
In particular, Gall wants to oust Hoyer because he voted for the Iraq war and receives money from special interest groups, Gall said.
“I don’t see someone who voted for the Iraq war ... and who raises more money from lobbyists than any other Congressman as somebody who represents to me big-D Democratic values,” Gall said.
It will be difficult running against Hoyer because he has more money than anyone else in Congress, Gall said.
“The reality is, no matter how much I raise, I’m still going to have less than Rep. Hoyer,” Gall said.
Gall put up a profile on Act Blue, a Web site for online fundraising for Democrats, and he is going to raise as much as he can from Internet donations, he said.
“I think I’m going to have to rely more on volunteers, be a little more creative, and maybe even get a little bit lucky,” Gall said. “If you’re willing to work hard, and if you’re honest and earnest with people, you can overcome a lot.”
Gall said he knows that the campaign will be difficult — especially since there is still homework to worry about.
“It’s definitely going to be a challenge,” he said. “Between ... working part-time, going to school full-time, a full-time campaign, throw in a social life and sleeping — there are just not enough hours in the day.”
You can reach this staff writer at mfowler@theeagleonline.com.
