Jews in the D

I 

recently boarded a flight to Des 
Moines, Iowa, with an excited and 
energetic crew. My friend, Danielle 
McGuire, an award-winning author and 
historian, her 11-year-old daughter, Ruby, 
my 11-year-old daughter, Olivia, and I 
were headed to the 2020 Iowa Caucus. 
We couldn’
t wait to witness history by 
attending the first major vote of the U.S. 
presidential primary.
We went with KidUnity, a Los Angeles-
based nonprofit organization that pro-
vides sixth-10th graders from LA and 
Detroit a chance to “experience politics in 
action.” Danielle had traveled with them 
before and invited us to join for the 2020 
vote — an amazing opportunity. We later 
met Isaac Mintz, 18, an energetic senior 
at West Bloomfield High School with a 
passion for politics, who joined the trip.
“We hope none of you talk about pol-
itics en route,” the Delta flight attendant 
joked at the start of our journey. Our 
plane was largely filled with journalists, 
including the legendary Tom Brokaw of 
NBC Nightly News fame. That was our 
first “celebrity sighting.” We were giddy as 
we snuck a few pre-flight photos. 
We hit the ground running in Iowa. 
The trip was a whirlwind of rallies, talks 
and some chance meetings with the likes 
of Bernie Sanders. A few students ran 
into the Democratic presidential hopeful 
in a hotel lobby. Along the way, the kids 
developed reporting skills by interviewing 
voters, candidates and journalists and 
witnessing politics in real time. National 
political reporters John King and Dana 
Bash from CNN and MSNBC’
s Katy Tur 
stopped to talk to us. As a former TV 

news anchor/reporter, I was geeked. So 
was Isaac. 
“It was amazing. You look around and 
realize you’
re seeing media professionals 
doing their job — and you’
re right along-
side them,” he said. 
“I learned that journalists need to be 
really alert because there could be an 
opportunity anywhere,” Ruby added. 
The students took selfies with for-
mer Vice President Joe Biden. They got 
autographs from entrepreneur Andrew 
Yang (who has since dropped out of the 
race) and met with other Democratic 
and Republican candidates. We sat in the 
press section during an actual caucus vote 
in Precinct 62 at Drake University.
“Voting in America is a time-honored 
and sacred thing,” Danielle reminded the 
students. “It’
s something people fought 
and died for, and it’
s not something you 
should take for granted.”
We watched as voters filed into the 
stadium and took their seats in various 
sections designated for each candidate. In 
our precinct, candidates with fewer than 
127 votes were not considered viable. 
Voters in those sections had 20 minutes 
to move to another section and change 
their vote.
“I learned what a caucus is and how 
you vote in one,” Olivia said.
Following the vote, our group filed 
into a gym for a Pete Buttigieg rally; but 
there was no sign of the Democratic 
presidential candidate and former South 
Bend, Indiana, mayor. At approximately 
9:30 p.m., a big screen in the gym airing 
CNN indicated that a vote-counting error 
occurred. None of us knew what had hap-
pened, and the student journalists were 
in the same boat as their role models: 
watching and waiting for answers. It turns 
out we all witnessed one of the greatest 
debacles in caucus history. As we headed 
home, the results still had not come in. It 
was truly an unforgettable experience.
“It’
s incredible to think that the world 
had its eyes on Iowa,” Isaac said. “
And we 
were right there.” 

Isaac Mintz contributed to this report. Michigan’
s 
presidential primary takes place March 10.

FROM TOP: Isaac Mintz, 18, of West Bloomfield takes 
a selfie while former Vice President Joe Biden takes a 
selfie with KidUnity students. Danielle McGuire and Robin 
Schwartz at the 62nd Precinct watching the caucus. Olivia 
Goldstein and Ruby Rosh, both 11 and of Huntington Woods, 
hold up their press passes at the Iowa Caucus.
 
28 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 

ROBIN SCHWARTZ

Witnessing 
History 

Local moms and ‘
kid 
journalists’
 attend 
2020 Iowa Caucus. 

ROBIN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

