The test of contracting out canvassers — like Elon Musk in Pennsylvania — will fail

Republican volunteer from Salisbury Township knocks on a door while canvassing a neighborhood in Bethlehem Pennsylvania

SAMUEL CORUM/AFP via Getty Images

People with perseverance and passion for the candidate go door-to-door, and not for a paycheck.

John Casey

John Casey is senior editor of The Advocate, writing columns about political, societal, and topical issues with leading newsmakers of the day. The columns include interviews with Sam Altman, Mark Cuban, Colman Domingo, Jennifer Coolidge, Kelly Ripa and Mark Counselos, Jamie Lee Curtis, Shirley MacLaine, Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen DeGeneres, Bridget Everett, U.S. Reps. Nancy Pelosi, Jamie Raskin, Ro Khanna, Maxwell Frost, Sens. Chris Murphy and John Fetterman, and presidential cabinet members Leon Panetta, John Brennan, and many others. John spent 30 years working as a PR professional on Capitol Hill, Hollywood, the Nobel Prize-winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, UN Envoy Mike Bloomberg, Nielsen, and as media relations director with four of the largest retailers in the U.S.

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John Casey

November 05 2024 5:37 PM EST

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If you have ever canvassed — gone door-to-door for a candidate, you know that it’s mostly a thankless job. You have to prepare yourself to be rejected, so you need a strong constitution. You also need a strong passion for the candidate. And, to canvas, you need someone in charge that knows the territory like the back of their hand.

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Passion and perseverance is key. You get doors slammed in your face, or some people take the opportunity to treat your visit as a grievance session. Yes, you get folks who answer their doors who are as excited as you are, and that makes it all rewarding.

For the last few weeks, everyone was leaning toward the fact that the election might come down to who wins Pennsylvania. More specifically, Pennsylvania is likely to come down to who wins in Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, and the surrounding area. That’s my hometown.

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As such, Elon Musk moved there, and took it upon himself to lead canvassing by paying Tom, Dick and Harry’s to go door-to-door. Democratic sources on the ground have told The Advocate for the last two weeks that they have not seen any canvassers for former President Donald Trump. And there are reports that the canvassers that were hired by Musk’s team checked a few boxes, and then went about their day.