Student from Minnesota ready to vote in important midterm elections

By Rebecca Montgomery

Morgan Downing is passionate and knowledgeable about the political races occurring in her home state of Minnesota. With a governor’s election, two Senate elections, along with numerous other state elections, 20-year-old Downing, is registered and excited to vote in November.

Downing, a junior majoring in public-relations and strategic-communications, is particularly excited about the large number of women candidates running for political office. Two women, Amy Klobuchar, and Tina Smith, are running for the Senate while Ilhan Omar is running to represent Downing’s district in the House of Representatives.

“There’s going to be champions for women’s rights all over Minnesota, and it makes me feel like so empowered to vote for them and see them in office,” she said.

As a Democrat, Downing wants to see Democratic candidates win in the midterm elections and is against President Donald Trump.

“I don’t need you to be the super far left socialist kind of Democrat, but I do need you to stand up to Donald Trump,” Downing said.

Despite this fact, she will still vote for more moderate Democratic candidates.

“It definitely makes me feel better when a Democrat is more inclined to do more of a calling out but at the same time that’s not going to stop me from voting for them,” Downing said.

For Downing, education policy is one of the most important political issues for her. As an education studies minor and through her own experiences at school, Downing understands how education is crucial to prevent people from falling behind.

“I grew up with a speech impediment so going to school, there was a lot I could participate in. And fortunately again because I had the funds, my parents could send me to a speech therapist, and I could get extra tutoring outside of school for certain subjects,” she said. “But a lot of people can’t do that, and the minute they’re set back in education five steps, they can’t just catch up that year. They already are behind.”

Downing wants to see there be more funding put into education and more assistance to teachers, who she says are teaching “the next generation of people to go help the world.”

“I think every child deserves an education like no matter who they are or what their background is. Every child deserves to learn,” she said.