Thomas Goss

Tom Steyer jokes with Brynne and Joshua Vance-Brown about how old they are at a breakfast reception in Sumter, S.C. Their mother brought them along to the event because she did not have child care. © 2020 Thomas Goss

Each of the presidential candidates handles relations very differently during their rallies. Tom Steyer is very personable at his rallies and gets very close to his supporters. He walks through the audience and onto the stage, and at the end of every rally he creates a line of supporters that want to meet one-on-one and makes time for each individual. Steyer’s rallies often involve food or some community event that allows for people to talk to him in a way that seems to be like a family gathering rather than a rally.

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Bernie Sanders’ rallies are far from the style of rallies that Steyer holds. Sanders’ rallies are always loud and showy. He often offers a band or rap group to start his rallies and gets the audience pumped up before he takes the stage. His path to the stage is blocked and cleared so no one is able to walk up to him. Sanders also rarely interacts with his supporters unless they are on stage. 

Pete Buttigieg’s rallies are almost a blend between Sanders’ and Steyer’s rallies. Buttigieg’s rally separates him from his supporters in the audience, but he is very touchy while on stage, giving a lot of hugs. He doesn’t have anyone that sings or raps to hype up the audience, but he does bring in local individuals that are important to South Carolina to support him before he takes the stage. At the end of his rallies he goes around and hugs and takes selfies with everyone that was in the audience.


Thomas Goss

I am from Lexington, S.C., and am a senior at the University of South Carolina. I currently work in marketing and hope to expand into commercial photography.

View Thomas’ work on COVID-19.