En præsidentkampagne for hvem som helst
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Michael Petyo leaves a voice message while campaigning in downtown Chicago, Illinois, November 20, 2015. Reuters Photographer Jim Young: “Hillary and Donald are running. So are more than 1, 500 others, among them Michael Petyo of Hobart, Indiana. He’s not a household name, nor does he have millions of dollars in backing. Petyo is a building contractor, a father and a U.S. Navy veteran. Back in May, Petyo handed me his card. He was outside an event in Des Moines, Iowa, attended by leading potential Republican candidates. Petyo said the party wouldn’t let him inside. We only spoke for a minute. Months later, I read of a few hundred people having already signed up to run for president: businesspeople, teachers, bartenders. Petyo lives about 75 miles from me so I arranged to meet. We spoke for a couple of hours at his dinner table with his wife. This is my fourth presidential election campaign. I have logged countless miles and been to hundreds of events – but always with candidates with massive financial backing and support from countless volunteers. Petyo has business cards, his van, his beliefs. He speaks about the working class, faith, the military. In his spare time he bakes to raise money for the church. Religion is important to him and he speaks about it passionately. Over the months we meet up while he campaigns and goes about his life. Petyo drives to a Republican debate in Milwaukee in November; the door is shut there too. He still works the lines of attendees outside. In Chicago people brush by on a cold, windy day as he tries to introduce himself. Some stop to ask him about his policies. He is not a full-time politician, just a regular guy facing what many would call insurmountable obstacles. It’s quite the understatement to say the odds are stacked against him. But that shouldn’t stop him or anyone from trying.” REUTERS/Jim Young SEARCH “PETYO” FOR ALL IMAGES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Efter slaget om om Iowa, der med en tredjeplads til Marco Rubio bragte den unge senator på alles læber, er det i dag New Hampshire, det handler om. En lille stat på østkysten, der ikke giver mange delegerede til sejrherren, men som ikke desto mindre har stor psykologisk betydning. Hos republikanerne står Trump til at få dobbelt så mange stemmer som nummer to, Marco Rubio, og hos demokraterne fører Bernie Sanders stort over Hillary Clinton. Ikke desto mindre er det langt fra usandsynligt, at Rubio og Clinton, de begge betegnes som etablissementets kandidater, vil stå tilbage som de moralske sejrherre. Men der er langt flere kandidater end dem, der indtager scenen i tv-debatterne. Faktisk er der 1.500, der stiller op som præsident. Fotografen Jim Young har fulgt en af dem, Michael Petyo, genenm Illinois.