
Nineteen-year-old O’Neill Public Policy major Connor Elliott has already been on the frontline of elections.
In spring 2023, he served on the reelection campaign for Indianapolis’ mayor. That opportunity led to another—campaign manager for a state representative—which led to another.
“Every two years the state party holds a state convention, so you can run for state delegate,” he says.
He earned a state delegate seat in his home district but had bigger plans. Elliott wanted a seat at the national convention table.
“The norm had been that most of the national delegate positions were held by people who were middle-age and older,” he explains.
Elliott wanted to serve not only as a voice for young people but as an example as well.
“I’m just some 19-year-old kid from Shelbyville, Indiana—middle of nowhere,” he says. “But I had the opportunity to go to the national convention. That’s not common.”
Not common but also not impossible.