India Busby, 19, of Juneau was at the Alaska Democratic Convention in Anchorage over the weekend. Last week, India told us about how she evolved in her thinking about politics.
It was a first for the teenaged Bernie Sanders supporter, who was one of the 539 convention delegates. We caught up with her Sunday to see how things went.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
KTOO: What did you learn from other people there who were Hillary Clinton supporters that you didn’t know going into the convention?
Busby: I guess I never really did any research about Hillary. It was more just what I heard, that she was corrupt. … Just talking to people about what her plans are and what she plans on doing — it’s those conversations, especially when you talk calmly about it, that help you see both sides of the candidates.
KTOO: Was there anything you were disappointed in or not so excited about in the whole process?
Busby: I was excited about the whole thing. I’m not disappointed one bit.
KTOO:What did you see in the breakdown of people by age? You were probably among some of the youngest people who were there.
Busby: There are tons of 18- and 19-year-olds that are here. I was really amazed with how many teenagers are here. There’s a lot of college students here as well. … We got to see what kind of supporters both Hillary and Bernie have as a whole. It really opens your eyes to see what the demographics are.
KTOO: What would you do differently next time the convention comes around?
Busby: I would be a little more prepared about how long we’re going to be voting for. We’ve been voting for things for two days straight. We’ve been sitting down a lot and stuck in this gym for hours. I just really hope that more people look into being delegates because this is an incredible experience and I’m so happy to be here.
