At 5:40 p.m. yesterday, Emery Markles is entering his 11th straight hour on the street, waving his campaign signs. Markles, a Boston University political science and history double major, is making his last campaign push to capture the democratic nomination for state representative for the First Worcester district, having visited six of the seven towns yesterday.
Standing on the corner of Main Street and Holt Road in Holden, the largest town in the district, Markles’ lone red campaign sign is lost within a sea of blue and white signs – some of which read the name of his opponent, Nate Kaplan. It is here, with more than two hours until the polls close, that Markles confides, “I am going to lose.”
He says this confidently, without a hint of regret in his voice, as he waves and smiles to each passing car — just as he has since 7:30 a.m.
“I came into this campaign to get my feet wet,” Markles says. “Well, I can now say they’re thoroughly soaked. I’m not going away though. I’m here to stay.”
As the polls closed last night, election estimates had Markles taking 30 percent of the vote, capturing one-fourth of the vote in Holden and one-third in Princeton.
At 20 years old, Markles ran a campaign that garnered praise from local residents, Beacon Hill veterans and even his opponent.
“Where he is right now, not living in the district full time, he’s doing a good job with his campaign,” said Kaplan, last night’s winner of the Democratic nomination.
Kaplan, who is just 24-years-old, told The Daily Free Press he hopes Markles will work with him to help unseat the incumbent, Republican Lew Evangelidis.
For Markles, yesterday’s 13-hour-long primary push – which started with him casting a vote and ended with him watching the election results on television while playing with his 5-month-old baby brother Gordon – the campaign experience has been nothing but positive.
“I loved talking to people about issues, getting out there and seeing the district,” Markles said. “It’s great to meet people who are politically active like myself and really care about the district.
“It was a fulfillment of the past year and a half,” Markles said about voting for himself. “To know other people see my name, it’s going to sound corny, but I feel proud to be performing a civic duty.”
After spending the past few weekends campaigning at home, Markles set out yesterday on a tour of his district, making stops at his hometown in Hubbardston and the other district towns of Holden, Oakham, Princeton, Rutland and Westminster.
“The theme of the day — no sleep,” Markles joked.
With a limited budget — Markles said he raised about $2,000 and contributed another $500 himself — Markles focused on establishing a base and getting his name out to voters.
“Really, my campaign has been about solidifying my base,” Markles said. “I’ve been going to friends, friends of friends and expanding from there. It’s been very grassroots.”
In the end, Markles said Kaplan’s larger budget and stronger presence made him a more visible candidate.
“Kaplan spent a lot of time and money on this campaign, and I’ve spent a lot of time,” Markles said. “Money goes a long way.”
A lot of voters who said they met Kaplan in person were unfamiliar with Markles’ name and his campaign, but they showed a lot of enthusiasm for Kaplan’s campaign.
“I met Kaplan a few times,” said Ron Damastrom, a 65-year-old Rutland resident, who had not heard Markles’ name before casting his ballot. “He’s new, he’s young and he’s got great ideas.”
Yet other voters supported Markles from the beginning.
“He’s younger and we definitely need new blood,” said Raymond Read, a 78-year-old Hubbardston resident who voted for Markles. “The old-timers . . . all they do is talk and there’s no action.”
In retrospect, Markles said he wished he could have done more door-to-door campaigning and perhaps made himself more available to the district. Throughout his campaign, he has answered concerns about whether he would be able to split time between BU and duties as a state representative.
Markles said he and Kaplan have been on good terms throughout the election, but Kaplan took a jab at Markles’s availability in a Sept. 14 article in The Landmark, a community newspaper.
“It’s not his time,” Kaplan said in the article. “He should have waited.”
When reached by phone, Kaplan said the district needed a representative who would be available full-time, again questioning Markles’s ability to handle responsibilities as a student and state representative.
“Right now, the district has been hit hard with cuts in aid and they need someone to live in the district who can really address these needs,” Kaplan said.
Looking toward the upcoming general election in November, Markles has promised to throw his support into Kaplan’s corner. If Kaplan should lose in November, Markles has promised to help Evangelidis.
“I just want to help the district, even if it’s not as an elected official,” Markles said.
Viewing this campaign as a stepping-stone, Markles said he would consider running again for state representative in 2008 if Kaplan loses the general election in November. Markles said he viewed this primary as a great way to build a base of support for another potential election.
“It’s a hard race to win unless you have a base,” said State Sen. Harriette Chandler (Worcester), whom Markles interned for in summer 2005. “[Markles] is a risk-taker. You need to stick your neck out, and too many people aren’t.”
Stopping at a voting location in Rutland, State Sen. Stephen Brewer (Worcester) praised Markles for entering into the election as a college student.
“There’s no monopoly on talent and passion,” Brewer said. “Thomas Jefferson was 33 years old when he wrote the Declaration of Independence.”
As for Markles — who one day aspires to be president — he is looking toward another historic precedent for inspiration.
“Abraham Lincoln lost every single election before he became senator,” Markles said, “and he eventually became president.”