One vote at a time: Meet 2020鈥檚 most determined underdog
| Dublin and Peterborough, N.H.
It is 6:30 a.m. and Adm. Joe Sestak is already two hours into a grueling day as he sets off down a dirt road in the New Hampshire wilds, the full moon casting a shadow ahead of him.
Stuffed in the back pocket of his jeans is his schedule 鈥� 10 events, ending around midnight 鈥� and talking points for short videos he plans to make for Instagram.
If you鈥檙e not one of his 798 followers, you may not know that Admiral Sestak is running for president. So, in a bid to garner attention, he is walking across New Hampshire. His lean new ground campaign involves hiking boots, iPhones and some assorted wires, and a single sign on a wooden stake that says,聽Admiral Joe Sestak for President.聽The admiral prefers not to carry it.
Why We Wrote This
Adm. Joe Sestak, who once commanded 15,000 sailors, is polling at 0% in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary and has yet to make a debate stage. Why would he sign up for this?
It can be lonely at the back of the 2020 Democratic pack, especially when you have a herd of senators and governors competing for ink and airtime. Many of them have struggled to get out of the single digits in polls, despite having far more funding and name recognition than the admiral.
He once commanded an aircraft carrier battle group with more than 15,000 sailors, but on his current shoestring budget he鈥檚 operating with a Ford F-150 and a crew of two. In the most recent fundraising quarter, he raised $374,000 to Bernie Sanders鈥� $25 million. In most polls, he registers at 0% (though there鈥檚 one that puts him at 1%, tied with Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard). His de facto campaign headquarters is an Econo Lodge under construction in Des Moines, Iowa, where his 鈥渁dmiral suite鈥� costs less than $50 a night. The largest audience he鈥檒l have all day, apart from a school event, is around two dozen.
All of which begs the question 鈥撀爓hy would a retired two-star admiral who worked in the Clinton White House, held senior positions at the Pentagon, and served two terms as a U.S. congressman from聽Pennsylvania聽submit himself to such, well, humiliation?
The short answer may be: he doesn鈥檛 see it that way. He loves this, he says, and thrives on talking to average Americans.聽And he has made a career 鈥� a life, even 鈥� of challenging seemingly insurmountable odds. His teenage daughter beat brain cancer 鈥撀爐wice. He was elected as a Democrat in a 2:1 Republican district, and won again two years later by a landslide. He challenged the Democratic establishment and President Barack Obama after the party endorsed former Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, running against their wishes and winning the nomination.
Now, he appears genuinely convinced that despite the fact that he is widely considered to be a nobody in this race, he has a shot of making the cut when Iowa and New Hampshire voters cast ballots in February.
鈥淲hen there鈥檚 no light at the end of the tunnel, it鈥檚 hard to keep things going,鈥� he admits. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 how it鈥檚 been for us at the beginning.鈥�
But, he adds, that鈥檚 when persistence matters the most.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to make a light at the end of the tunnel,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檒l just see how big it鈥檚 going to be.鈥�
And so, undeterred, he sets off at a brisk pace eastward to Dublin. There鈥檚 a lot to do today.
Motivated to serve
When the admiral reconvenes with his team some three miles down the road, the sun has risen and they have a tidbit of good news. Someone called in to C-SPAN to say he鈥檇 make a good vice presidential pick for Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
He shakes his head. He鈥檚 not doing this to be VP.
鈥淲arren would be a good VP,鈥� he says, with no hint of irony. 鈥淪he would聽execute. ... I think she has a talent for that.鈥�
But the president, he says, has to unite the country.
He heads into an auditorium full of restless teenagers at the Dublin School, a private high school,聽to talk about why he鈥檚 the best candidate to do that. Afterward, an administrator comes up and clasps his hand. 鈥淚 may be the only Republican here, but you could be a great president,鈥� he told the admiral. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 even know聽what we鈥檙e fighting about.鈥�
It鈥檚 not an uncommon response from conservatives, who tend to value his public service.
鈥淗e鈥檚 motivated to serve from deep inside. ... It鈥檚 just built into him,鈥� says David Liddy, who as a junior officer willingly worked 100-hour weeks to help Admiral Sestak finish a report on improving the Navy so it could more effectively combat Osama bin Laden and other terrorists. Several days later, the U.S. was blindsided by 9/11.
In New Hampshire, 40% of voters are independents, and can vote in the Democratic primary. Admiral Sestak sees an opening to win them over. But getting media coverage in such a crowded field has been a challenge.听听
鈥淭he attitude is basically, 鈥榳e have too many people running for president anyhow.鈥� OK, maybe you do, but maybe the best one is the one you haven鈥檛 seen yet,鈥� says Mr. Liddy, who lives in New Hampshire and popped up unexpectedly at one of the day鈥檚 events to advocate for the admiral. 鈥淚鈥檓 really concerned because I鈥檓 a Republican, I鈥檝e been conservative my whole life, and I may be shifting parties. ... And here one of the best people I know is running for president, so I鈥檓 trying to help.鈥�
鈥淲hen you don鈥檛 get on MSNBC, you go on Cheddar鈥�
By the time Admiral Sestak survives his seven-mile trek from Dublin to Peterborough, walking past a steady stream of Mack trucks, he has recorded seven short video clips for Instagram, ranging from a sunrise stand-up on agricultural policy to one about moon bases.
鈥淥ne of the biggest hits I鈥檝e gotten was on space,鈥� the admiral explains, referring to an appearance this summer about聽聽on Cheddar TV, an online channel. 鈥淥h well, when you don鈥檛 get on MSNBC, you go on Cheddar. I鈥檝e been on there twice. I also do very well on Breitbart.鈥�
He鈥檚 setting up for another video shoot on the outskirts of Peterborough when a police car rolls up, blue lights flashing. It is admittedly an odd scene 鈥撀燼 pickup truck pulled off the highway, a man standing directly underneath the green traffic sign for Peterborough and pointing up at it, and a younger man in a suit jacket and hiking boots pulling a knot of wires out of his cargo pants.聽
鈥淵ou folks all set?鈥� the policeman asks quizzically.
鈥淵eah,鈥� says Evan O鈥機onnell, Admiral Sestak鈥檚 communications director, in his perfect British accent.
鈥淵ou sure?鈥� asks the policeman.
鈥淵eah, yeah,鈥� they assure him again, and he slowly drives away.
It鈥檚 now nearly 1 p.m., and the admiral has a scheduled taping with Politics & Pints, a locally produced video series started by twin brothers Eric and Mike Jackman.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e not Eric or Mike, are you?鈥� asks the admiral as a young man comes out of the brewery.
鈥淣o,鈥� says the young man. Then he pauses. 鈥淥h, are you, uh 鈥撯��
鈥淛oe Sestak,鈥� says the admiral.
By the time he does the interview and pounds a stake into the ground to mark the end of his walk for the day, it鈥檚 2:22 p.m. and no one has had lunch.
The boss doesn鈥檛 believe in eating on the road. He says it makes him tired. Yesterday, all he had was a bag of cheddar popcorn 鈥� around midnight. Nate Kleinman, an organic farmer who doubles as the campaign鈥檚 policy director and driver, has a few sticks of Kate鈥檚 butter on the floor of his truck along with a half-eaten baguette, but that hardly counts. Mr. O鈥機onnell is running on fumes from the lobster roll he picked up this morning.
The admiral has a reputation for being a taskmaster 鈥撀爃is congressional office was open seven days a week 鈥� but he also inspires deep loyalty. Within a week and a half of Mr. O鈥機onnell getting a call from his old boss inviting him to join the campaign, he had quit his job in Paris managing Ernst & Young鈥檚 financial services for Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India, and was on a plane to Iowa, temporarily leaving his fianc茅e behind.
鈥淥f course any sane observer would have to say the odds are stacked against him,鈥� says Mr. O鈥機onnell. But he believes the admiral is the best candidate. Not only does he have a depth and breadth of global experience, he says, but he鈥檚 got heart. 鈥淪ometimes you have to take a bit of a risk if you really believe in something.鈥�
Late for their next appointment, they wind up lost, wandering around a parking lot. The admiral spots a movie theater advertising 鈥淒ownton Abbey,鈥� a favorite of his wife and daughter, and stops to take a selfie 鈥撀燽y himself. No one recognizes him, let alone asks for an autograph.
Some may shake their heads at his quixotic bid, but those close to the admiral value his conviction that he can make a difference.聽
鈥淗e knows it鈥檚 a long shot聽but I think he feels it鈥檚 important to try, no matter how many people tell him that it鈥檚 a long shot,鈥� says his wife, Susan Clark-Sestak, who knows firsthand his dogged determination. On one of their first encounters, a work trip to the Soviet Union, he proposed. She said no. Eight years later, they were married.
鈥淲ho knows,鈥� she says, 鈥渕aybe it鈥檒l catch fire.鈥�
An audience of three
When the admiral walks into the basement of the Peterborough Town Library around 4 p.m., there are six plastic chairs in a semicircle, three of which are empty. The admiral sits down facing two journalists and a local activist whom he won over years ago by writing her a thank-you note after she visited his congressional office.
In a few hours, 12 Democratic candidates will be taking the stage in Ohio for the fourth debate, which will attract 8.3 million viewers.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if you heard, but I鈥檓 in the debate,鈥� says the admiral.
The local activist jumps out of her chair and high-fives him. 鈥淗ow鈥檇 you get in?鈥� she asks, incredulous.
He clasps her outstretched hand and then explains he鈥檒l be livestreaming his answers to the moderator鈥檚 questions later that night. The venue: a Dunkin鈥� doughnut shop.
About half an hour in, a student at Antioch College who is writing about Admiral Sestak鈥檚 climate change plan comes in and starts a second 鈥渞ow.鈥� It鈥檚 so quiet you can hear the clock tick. The admiral is there for more than an hour.
They head out to the parking lot and Mr. Kleinman puts what鈥檚 left of a broken key into his ignition, and then takes out a wrench to turn it, bringing the truck to life.
As the crew piles in and gets back onto the highway, Mr. O鈥機onnell calls up the team鈥檚 operations director, Chris Baker, from the backseat. 鈥淟ook,鈥� he says, almost inaudibly. 鈥淭he event just now 鈥撀爏mall group.鈥�
It鈥檚 a short conversation. The admiral wants to talk to Mr. Baker, who planned most of the schedule from the Econo Lodge back in Iowa.
鈥淭he day鈥檚 been great, thanks so much for what you put together,鈥� the admiral tells Mr. Baker, asking him if he heard that an earlier event at an assisted living center went well. It drew about a dozen residents, one of whom slid her Joe Sestak brochure under the crossword puzzle on her walker.
鈥淚 won 鈥檈m all!鈥� the admiral says.
He鈥檚 not the least bit disheartened about the library event, he says in an interview after getting off the phone.
First of all, he explains, it was mid-afternoon on a workday in a town where most people commute to work.聽鈥淎nd the local press was there! So I succeeded where I wanted to succeed,鈥� says the admiral. Plus, he adds, the local activist is very involved on Social Security issues and will 鈥渂roadcast to her whole network鈥� what she heard.
鈥淪o was that a win? Yeah, that was a win.鈥�
It鈥檚 a big issue, he concedes, not being able to get on cable TV 鈥� though many people have been commenting on the ad he just ran in the middle of 鈥淪aturday Night Live.鈥� But like a battle that doesn鈥檛 go as planned, it鈥檚 just something they have to work around. And he鈥檚 been here before. At one early event in his campaign against Senator Specter, only two people showed up: a retired general and his wife.
So if he has to drive for hours to see a handful of people, no problem.聽
If he has to walk聽, including through a Nor鈥檈aster, he鈥檒l do it with a smile.
If he has to livestream his 鈥渄ebate performance鈥� from a doughnut shop, where not a single customer pays attention to him, where there are technology glitches and only about eight to 10 people are watching online at any given moment, so be it.
He will keep working 18-20 hour days and gain voters, one at a time.
鈥淥ur strategy is a little different because it has to be,鈥澛爏ays the admiral.聽鈥淚 have a path that I can see to victory.鈥�
