Being a Candidate at a Political Forum is TERRIFYING
So, in case you didn't know, I'm running for US Congress and it is easily in the top 5 hardest things I've ever done. Me thinking to myself that I should write more about the whole running for congress journey... I love the experience and being able to talk about issues that I care about, but yesterday I experienced one of the most stressful moments of my life.
I'm used to public speaking and taking the lead in large groups, but yesterday was something else.
I sent out my first press release, well, first one about me, I've sent press releases before. That went out at 4pm and the forum was at 8:30.
After truly putting myself and ideas into the media's inbox, my heart rate was screaming at 167 bpm. My resting is normally 58. To say I was nervous is an understatement.
Bentley Hensel
After clicking send on the press release, I realized I couldn't just sit and wait to hear back, so I threw on my running clothes and ran a quick out-and-back from the house. It calmed me down a bit, but, again, still overall nervous as hell.
It was really weird, I've been in more stressful and impactful situations before and never felt anything close to this. I've also never run for office before. I am currently eating all of the horrible things I've said about political candidates/clients in the past. I am starting to get it now. Once back from the run, I did some relaxation exercises and then started to get ready and got in Sprout and headed towards the forum at ~7:30.
There were four candidates on the stage.
1) Don Beyer, Democrat - Incumbent
2) Yours Truly, Independent
3) David Kennedy, Independent
4) Jerry Torres, Republican
Each of the candidates had 2 minutes to give an introduction and then a series of questions where we had 1 minute to respond. My intro is below, but as you can probably imagine, I never got above U (Unsatisfactory) for handwriting in school.
I didn't want to be the asshole who is on his phone at a forum, so I brought out the printed notes. My brain is a weird place, and I do best when I study what I want to say beforehand and then write it down just before I need to say it. Does it make sense? No. Does my neuro🌶️ brain respond best to this method? Yep.
For those of you who can't read my "handwriting," here is a transcript. I included the intro-to-the-intro below even though it isn't in the above chicken scratch. I also included some of the mental notes that didn't make it into my written notes.
Good evening, my name is Bentley Hensel and I'm a data driven problem solver, deeply committed to privacy & transparency. My campaign is about real solutions, not just talk.
I grew up in Alexandria, LA and took a job in Alexandria, VA in 2015 after a brief stint in the Navy. (I thought about including 'I prefer Alexandria (Virginia's Version)' as a joke, but the crowd didn't strike me as Swifties.
I'm now a Sr. Data & DevOps Engineer at CivicActions, who works on sites such as Medicare.gov, VA.gov, & NSF.gov. Obviously, I'm not endorsed by them.
After years of working in technology & public service, I've seen firsthand how antequated government systems hold us back and I'm working to change that.
I'm leading by example and am the first federal candidate to ever instantly disclose all of my campaign donations.
Arlington is a place where civic engagement and innovation thirve. I want our government to reflect those values, ensuring it serves the prople effectively & fairly. (I have no idea if I used the correct e/affect there 🤷🏻)
Thank you for inviting me tonight & I look forward to discussing how we can make real change together.
We then jumped into the questions. Since Mr. Beyer started with the intros, I was the up to answer to the first question.
We went through the questions where I wasn't able to say everything I wanted, but I think I made an impact. Time will tell.
I was not as nervous as before the debate/when sending out the press release, but still using my fidget cube under the table pretty constantly during the whole thing. I was sitting next to Mr. Beyer and he either saw me as A) someone just starting out their political career and nervous as hell or B) someone trying to punch way above his weight. My real question is, after he put me into one of the two above groups, did he consider how to best beat me or what my political future would look like?
Why I'm Excited
Well, Don Beyer isn't what I anticipated. I expected an arrogant, holier-than-thou ass, but I was pretty surprised when he mentioned my PCT hike and how he is hiking the AT. My initial, pre-yesterday, opinion was pretty biased though. I have spent the past 6+ months working to take the guy's job, so I think I may have built up some notions that weren't rooted in reality.
I just put a task on my to-do list to write "Don Beyer is/seems like a pretty nice guy" article so thoughts will be there in the next day or so. There is nothing like writing it in an article I've published to motivate me to write it.
After the forum, I felt great. I think I delivered my message at 80% of what I'm capable of. Being that it was my first forum as a candidate, I'm not going to be too hard on myself. I thoroughly enjoyed discussing my plans with genuinely interested people, or at least made it look like they were.
I don't anticipate that the next forum/debate will cause anywhere near that stress level, but either way, I'm incredibly excited about it. I've worked so incredibly hard over the past few months to get on the ballot and set up the foundation to run for Congress. Now that I'm here, it is a truly rewarding and energizing experience and look forward to what the next ~60 days hold. ✌️