When you think about election organizing at Harvard, a few words might come to mind. Privilege. Access. Money. 

The Harvard College Democrats are backed by a federally recognized PAC. Student leaders at the Harvard Republican Club have dined with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and pulled off speaking events with multi-billionaire Peter Thiel. 

Talk to them, and you’ll find that the name-dropping is constant, and the access is unparalleled. They’ll also tell you that all of it — the organizing, the networking — is available to any Harvard student who wants in on the action. 

You’ll get the sense that Harvard’s run-up to Election 2024 goes far beyond the confines of campus. It takes students to the Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention — to Pennsylvania, to Georgia — rubbing shoulders with some of America’s most powerful politicians, in some of the election’s most high-profile moments. Today on Newstalk, in an election special, we talk to the presidents of the Harvard Republican Club and Harvard College Democrats about the world of election organizing at Harvard.