How This College Kid Won A Local Election On A $200 Budget

How This College Kid Won A Local Election On A $200 Budget

Most college students claim to be good multi-taskers. Lee Jackson, however, is probably better at it than most.

Jackson is a third-year student at the University of Maine. Since starting his college career, Jackson also took up another: Local politician.

At the ripe age of 19, Jackson was elected to the Regional School District No. 34 School Board in Old Town, Maine, all while maintaining his grades and working a part-time job at McDonald's.

Maybe the most surprising part of the whole story is that Jackson won his election with just a $200 budget.

"For me, it was, here's my budget, it's $200, how can I best spend these $200?" he told HuffPost Live. "It was a lot of knocking on doors, and coalition building, and organizing, and pizza nights, and photo ops. It's definitely something that's not easy."

Money doesn't win campaigns, Jackson said, stating the obvious after his victory. He credited getting to know his voters with the win.

Jackson's interview Monday was part of a larger conversation about millennials who choose to run for office.

Young people looking for inspiration from Jackson's win, however, probably shouldn't apply his strategy on a larger level, according to Poy Winichakul, co-founder and co-director of the LaunchProgress PAC.

"Money will always be a factor in campaigns," Winichakul said.

Watch the full HuffPost Live conversation here. Sign up here for Live Today, HuffPost Live's new morning email that will let you know the newsmakers, celebrities and politicians joining us that day and give you the best clips from the day before!

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