Ball State University Democrats hosted the College Democrats of Indiana convention in the Arts and Journalism building Saturday with representation from surrounding Indiana universities.
The convention started at 9:30 a.m. and included guest speakers, workshops and an election for state office positions. The CDIN concluded with a social, which ended a nearly 12-hour-long agenda.
Director of Organizing for America and state director of President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, Mitch Stewart, spoke to the CDIN about his role in electing Obama as president, the importance of ground level volunteers and President Obama's likely Republican competitor, Mitt Romney.
"I mean, this is unbelievable, this is unprecedented, no candidate has ever come out of their primary like this." Stewart said about Mitt Romney's approval rating in the Republican Party.
He also spoke about his life during the 2008 presidential campaign.
"I probably have between nine and 13 meetings a day," Stewart said. "I wish this was sexier or cooler than it is. It's not like I'm rolling on Air Force One and talking strategy with the president."
Other speakers the at CDIN included Democratic Indiana Governor nominee John Gregg along with his campaign staffer David Galvin. Stewart spoke about the importance of bipartisanship in Indiana government is.
"Two of the years I was Speaker, our chamber was divided: 50 Democrats, 50 Republicans," Gregg said. "In Indiana, the whole time I was Speaker of the House as a Democrat, we managed to pass legislation, we managed to work together, pass a balanced budget, increase funding for public universities, K-12, in a bipartisan way."
Galvin said he felt that on-foot volunteers have made some of the biggest differences in previous campaigns he had worked on.
"I worked for Frank O' Bannon in 2000; we had less money than David McIntosh, congressman McIntosh." Galvin said. "I think we were outraised by almost $5 million at that time, and then we ended up beating him because we found that congressman had missed a whole bunch of votes on his own campaign."
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