'Local Matters' Door-to-Door: A Canvassing Series with John McDaniel

Let me introduce myself.

My name is John McDaniel. After I retired from full time employment in August of 2021, my wife Barbara and I moved (back) to Hickory from Northern Virginia to take care of my 91-year-old mother, who was still living in the house she and my father bought in 1972 when I was a rising senior at Hickory High School. She was slowly going blind from macular degeneration and couldn't safely drive or prepare her own meals anymore. By moving in with her, she was able to stay in her home for another 31 months before passing away in her sleep a year and a half ago.

Soon after our move, I started delivering Meals on Wheels twice a month and singing in a couple of area choral groups that met once a week, but mostly I was making sure Mom had what she needed and driving her to church, to visit with friends and shop, and to doctor's appointments.

Early on, I made note of the Catawba County Democratic Party Headquarters, and although I dropped by one afternoon to introduce myself, I decided that my responsibilities to my mother would make it too difficult to make a meaningful time commitment to campaigning as a volunteer. But in 2024, I jumped in with both feet, spending hours canvassing and talking with voters lined up at one of the local Early Voting sites.

I have been a Democratic Party campaign volunteer for 15 years (1976, 2008-2020, and 2024; this year will be my 16th). Most of my involvement has been as a canvasser. I greatly enjoy it, and wanted to use this blog to share some thoughts and experiences that might help others dive in and experience some of the joys and satisfaction that have kept me engaged.

I did not grow up in a "political" family. I am the only child of a Lutheran pastor father who became a professor at Lenoir-Rhyne [College], and a mother who was a homemaker, Cub Scout den mother, and who didn't enter the "workforce" until she started working part time as a secretary after I was in high school. Neither was active in politics or in campaigning for others. The KKK in Savannah, Georgia, did burn a wooden cross in our front yard in 1958 after Dad spoke up in the pulpit in support of civil rights, but that is the only time I can remember a social or political issue directly impacting our lives.

I was 8 when President Kennedy was assassinated, and 13 when Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were gunned down. The Vietnam War, the Freedom Riders, and the nefarious behavior of Richard Nixon (both his "Southern Strategy" to pull conservative voters from voting for Democrats that started in 1968, and all of the questionable and clearly illegal actions he helped plan and approved in his campaign for reelection in 1972, revealed in reporting following the Watergate break in) all shaped my political and social consciousness, but it wasn't until 1976 that I first involved myself in the political process, going door-to-door in Hickory for Jimmy Carter.

I graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne in 1978 with a degree in Political Science, and after a year at home working to save money, went to Washington to pursue a Master's Degree in International Affairs at American University. The election of 1980 affected me deeply. If Americans could toss away a good man like Carter for a sweet/tough talking corporatist tool like Ronald Reagan, what hope did we have? I celebrated Bill Clinton's victories in 1992 and 1996, but was frustrated at the failure of his healthcare reform effort, and uncomfortable with his Third Way coziness with Wall Street and Big Business, and some of his compromises with the Republican-controlled Congress.

I emailed friends regarding my outrage over the Bush-Gore election and outcome in 2000, and the "Swiftboating" of John Kerry in 2004, and cynicism once again became my approach to politics.

Then came 2008 and Barack Obama. Like many of you, I was swept up by the Hope and Change messages and the sheer symbolism of a Black man with a serious chance to be President. It didn't hurt that my 18-year-old daughter was even more idealistic and energized than I was about Obama. That's when I walked into a campaign office in Dumfries, Virginia and offered myself as a volunteer. I spent hundreds of hours canvassing for Obama and other Democrats that summer and fall and gave voters rides to their polling places on Election Day. The Watch Party that evening was a joyous celebration, as was the 2009 Inauguration. Over the next two years, despite my growing frustration with his seeming unwillingness to use the full power of the Presidency to put pressure on Republicans who tried to block his every initiative, I continued to support him and work to "seed the ground" to grow successful local Democrats. I watched in horror as the Tea Party swelled into the mass of reactionary voters who gave Democrats a "shellacking" in the 2010 midterm elections, but didn't lose hope and worked all the harder in 2012 to help deliver Obama his second term. 

I continued to canvas hard in every election cycle through 2018. In 2017, I was canvassing captain for the Northern Virginia campaigning district that knocked more doors than any other such district in the Commonwealth as we helped Ralph Northam become governor. Campaigning in 2020 was frustrating, since COVID kept us from doing any door-to-door canvassing, but the results of our efforts (post cards, phone calls, and organizing to make sure "our" voters got to the polls) were once again very fulfilling.

In my many years of involvement in politics and canvassing, my level of enthusiasm has sometimes flowed and sometimes ebbed. Some of the candidates I've supported have disappointed me at times. But I try to focus on the core values we share as Democrats: liberty, peace and justice, public education, advancement of the common good, and lifting up the disadvantaged to have opportunities for a better life. When I keep these goals in mind, I can better ward off the cynicism and despair that sometimes creep into my thinking.

If you are wondering "Just what is canvassing, anyway?", let me explain. Many years ago, personal face-to-face campaigning, whether by the candidates or volunteers, involved a lot of somewhat educated guess work. Campaign staff developed a pretty good understanding of which neighborhoods would be more and less friendly to their candidates, and focused the door-to-door efforts on the areas most likely to be receptive to their talking points concerning positions on the issues, but there were still many "wasted" visits with voters who were indifferent or even hostile. I remember how nervous I was knocking on that first door for Jimmy Carter, working with a group of fellow Lenoir-Rhyne students identified as Young Democrats. Fortunately, that first door was opened by a woman who smiled when she saw my Carter button, and we talked for a few minutes about what was needed to "heal" our politics and our country. Our faculty advisor had done a good job of identifying a neighborhood that was mostly receptive to Carter's messages, and I can only remember one instance of having a door slammed in my face.

In the past 20 years, analysis of more and better data on party affiliation and voting records has enabled more effective targeting of voters most likely to support a candidate. Instead of just going door to door down block after block, the MinVAN mobile app for Smartphones is a great tool for efficient canvassing, helping you drive (and walk) from location to location on your list in a logical sequence, and sometimes speak with more than one voter in a residence. MiniVAN also provides a script you can use to introduce yourself and to ask a series of questions to collect and record information about the issues that are most important to each prospective voter. It also directs you to ask the people you are talking with whether or not they are interested in volunteering themselves.

Here are my top, basic tips for canvassing:

• Don't rush -- move from location to location with enough deliberation to stay safe.

• Dress comfortably and stay hydrated -- you're no good to the cause if you pass out from dehydration or succumb to heat exhaustion.

• Keep it simple -- rehearse a simple way to introduce yourself, and focus on just one or two issues you want to express your opinion on, if given the opportunity.

• Be consistent -- ask each person the same questions in the same words, and remember that your main objective is to record their opinions and voting plans, not to pontificate.

Canvassing is typically divided into two "phases," the persuasion phase, and the GOTV (get out the vote) phase. Thanks to better research tools, the persuasion phase targets not just fellow Democrats, but Independents and even some registered Republicans considered to be persuadable. In future blog posts, I'll address the best preparation and approaches to use in speaking with (and listening to) the voters you encounter, and share some stories from my canvassing and that of other CCDP canvassers.

While campaigning for presidential candidates can generate the most excitement, canvassing for state and local candidates is no less important. It is at these more local levels that we best exercise our opportunity and responsibility as citizens.

To me, canvassing is the best way we can impact the political process in advancing our progressive civic values. These conversations, short as they necessarily must be, can be mutually inspiring and energizing to both canvasser and canvassee. Our constitutional ideal, keeping strong, as Lincoln put it, our government "of, for, and by the people" is best served by such interactions. Also, while campaigning for presidential candidates can generate the most excitement, canvassing for state and local candidates is no less important. It is at these more local levels that we best exercise our opportunity and responsibility as citizens. When asked what form of government the newly formed United States had adopted after the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Ben Franklin reportedly said "A republic, if you can keep it." He understood that it would require continual civic engagement by the people. To me, canvassing is the most direct and rewarding way to perform that civic duty.  I hope my stories inspire you to grab a clipboard, join us on the sidewalk, and see for yourself how powerful one conversation at a door can be.

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John McDaniel

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About the “Local Matters” Series. This is the first installment in Local Matters: Door-to-Door, where longtime community volunteer John McDaniel shares stories, tips, and insights from his years of canvassing in Catawba County and Northern Virginia. Over the coming weeks, John will revisit memorable encounters, hard-earned lessons, and practical advice for anyone stepping up to help in our municipal elections.

We hope these stories spark curiosity, build confidence, and inspire you to join us in knocking on doors for our community in 2025 and beyond. Have a favorite canvassing memory or tip of your own? We’d love to feature voices from across our community—send your story to info@catawbacountydemocrats.com. When it comes to local change, every door opened matters.