Live Blog: Josh Segall's Campaign Continues to Build

Thanks Michael. We have a lot of young voters in my district because we have a number of colleges: Alabama State, Jacksonville State, Auburn, and Tuskegee. I think young voters have certainly been energized by the presidential campaign. We'll have a college coordinator on every campus and a college tour in early September.

I think the big issue for college students right now are economic. There have been big cuts in federal funding for Auburn University, for example, and cuts to student loans. My opponent has been nowhere on those issues. Auburn is also a big economic driver for my district and students worry that there won't be jobs for them in Alabama.

Thanks Kevin. As you can see on my website (segall2008.com), we have a blog on the website, a facebook group and a facebook politician page, and two videos already out. We just set up our twitter site.

I think the internet is the most important new way to communicate and to get news and I want to protect it. We have a net neutrality position on the website.

One of the most important principles of the campaign is accountability. We've pledged to have 2 town hall meetings in every county every year. The point is to make sure my agenda comes from what people want. We intend to use every form of communication to stay in touch with constituents.

Kevin, it's also worth mentioning that online communication is cheaper than traditional media. As a campaign that is not nearly as well funded, we have to be creative to get our message out.

Michael, I want to say a little more about your question. You mentioned Alaska as a very red state. My district is really not a red district. It's 33% African American, the 3rd highest percentage of any district held by a Republican in the entire country. 75% of the local elected officials are dems. State wide dems have generally won the district.

Rogers had an 06 opponent named Greg Pierce, who worked a full time job and wasn't able to raise much money. Pierce raised $7k and Rogers spent $1.2 million. Pierce got 40% of the vote.

Thanks Sarah. I do consider my youth an asset in terms of energy and drive to get things done. We have extraordinary economic potential in East Alabama, in fact we extraordinary potential in places all over the country, and we don't always take advantage of it because we don't invest in our economy.

We believe that basic investment in roads, bridges, sewer systems, and irrigation infrastructure, can help us replace a lot of the jobs we're shipping overseas.

I think the fact that I'm young underscores the common sense aspect of this stuff. A lot of politicians I believe get caught up on divisive issues and don't seem to accomplish much. But the solutions to a lot of the economic problems are agreeable to the vast majority of people. It's having a strong economy that allows us to create basic opportunity for all people.

That's another important point about being young. People in rural areas worry that their children won't be able to grow up and live in their home town. My campaign is about preserving that possibility.

Sarah, we do pretty simple stuff when it comes to fundraising and the internet. We send around electronic copies of our materials and videos where I explain why I'm running and why I can win. Then we ask our supporters to email a few friends and ask them to contribute. We tend to reach a lot of people.

Tony Stewart. Who is yours?

Michael, brain drain is exactly the issue. First, you want students to go to in-state colleges as much as possible. So you have to have incentives for that--not just good schools but you have to help with tuition.

You have to try to attract the kinds of business that pays well. And you have to have the sorts of communities that attract young people.

Populista, thanks for the question. The important thing to us is to raise enough to get our message out. Our message has two components: we need a representative who wakes up everyday thinking about how we can create jobs, and we need a representative who always puts the district above his party and his donors. I believe Rogers hasn't lived up to those standards because of his support for trade bills that sent jobs overseas without any plan to replace them through investment in our economy, and because of his votes regarding treatment of soldiers.

Because of Rogers' votes, our message is a lot stronger than his. His message is that he supports alternative fuels and that he defies his party. But the evidence just isn't there.

Michael,

We really haven't gotten a lot of help though we're working hard to get some from the DCCC. Having said that, we believe we can win without help from the DCCC.

I first thought about running about a year ago last March. The thought of running for Congress seemed extremely daunting to me. I spent a lot of time reading about the district and found that we have a lot of economic potential. I also saw that Rogers wasn't doing much about it. So I started calling anyone I could think of who would know about economic development and about politics and I went all around the district trying to figure out if people felt there was a need for a new representative.

I also spent some time trying to figure out if I could raise enough money. But the answer to that question is really based on the first question. We've raised money because people believe we can win. There are two components there: the district is good--people here believe a good representative can make the difference for economic growth--and the issues are good. We believe we're right on the issues and that he hasn't done what he claims he has.