NBC29Election Cycle Tour Rolls into Charlottesville
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As Election Day nears, people are taking a closer look at key campaign issues. One UVA graduate is riding his bike through the country, asking voters what's important to them and documenting the answers along the way.
Tim Foley calls himself the first cycling political journalist. As he finishes his graduate studies at Columbia University's journalism school, he's going on a wild bike ride that will take him through 12 states in over 50 days and into the minds of the voting public.
"Instead of taking a job with a normal news organization after journalism school, I was going to test the theory that people care more about issues than they care about rhetoric and simple politics," explained Foley.
Foley's hitting the road to interview voters about what's important to them as part of his Election Cycle tour. "If I see something I can stop and ask somebody or engage somebody in a conversation real easily, and it's also it's disarming. If someone's riding a bike they're much more willing to talk rather than if I roll up in a news van," shared Foley.
Foley's aiming to profile 50 voters in 50 days and post their interviews and video on a blog. In Charlottesville, he spoke with Aubrey Israel. Israel is a mother of three who says healthcare will be on her mind when she heads to the polls.
Israel said, "I think it's wonderful what he's doing. I think that anybody who's willing to take such a long journey to talk to people and get some ideas and get different opinions from people is very valuable."
Foley says he's trying to encourage political discussion and help voters get information on the issues his interview subjects bring up. Along the way, he's learned a lot himself.
"Overall, I feel like people do care about issues and they want to get pass the rhetorical BS and move on to a situation where they can discuss the differences in ideologies instead of difference in character."
You can track Tim Foley's progress at the Election Cycle website. You'll also find links detailing the presidential candidate's positions on the issues along with the interviews completed during the tour.
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