Matthew Avena protraying Darrell Castle during the mock election presidential candidates debate. (Credit: Audrey Mannion)
My name is Matthew Avena, and I represented Darrell Castle in my school’s mock election. The election lasted two weeks, and throughout that time I had to conduct meetings, hold rallies, and participate in a debate. I was lucky to have a great team of students and teachers working with me. When the campaign started, most students had not heard the name Darrell Castle. By the time it finished, a large percentage of the school were Castle supporters.
Matthew Avena as Darrell Castle during second campaign rally (Credit: Delia Noone)
I tried my best to campaign like Mr. Castle himself, running a campaign centered on issues instead of insults. Our campaign held three rallies: one focused on economics, one on social issues, and one on foreign policy. These rallies lasted for around ten minutes each, with Jack Toohey, representing Scott Bradley, and I speaking. The number of people attending grew after every rally, and over 60 people attended the third one. These rallies led up to an hour long debate between the five candidates on the ballot in New Jersey.
After the students and teachers voted, Darrell Castle had received 16% of the vote! Our campaign saw this as a big success, as in just two weeks the school had gone from not knowing Darrell Castle to supporting him! I had a lot of fun during the campaign, and I learned a lot. I am very grateful to the Castle Campaign for reaching out to me, and I hope that we get a good result on November 8th!
Matthew Avena
Video of the debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMOcRyv667k
- Castle answers at: 16:18, 34:25, 43:22
- Castle closing statement: 45:00
- Castle responds to other candidates answers at: 6:45, 10:32, 13:30, 22:37, 25:00, 27:50, 31:10, 42:38,
School newspaper covering the election: http://theinkblotnews.com/
Articles about the Castle Campaign:
- http://theinkblotnews.com/5744/showcase/castle-discusses-foreign-policy/
- http://theinkblotnews.com/5714/2016-mock-election/castle-gain-support-at-second-rally/
- http://theinkblotnews.com/5709/2016-mock-election/castle-holds-first-rally/
- http://theinkblotnews.com/5691/2016-mock-election/castle-explains-and-promotes-constitution-party/
- http://theinkblotnews.com/5750/news/mock-presidential-debate-features-scandals-policies-and-personalities/
The Castle Report