Th at is common during weekday aft er-
noons, both candidates said. Yet both
Jews, who are proud of their identities but
who do not have Jewish-specifi c issues to
campaign on, kept the faith and contin-
ued knocking.

Sometimes a man or woman in ath-
leisure clothes would answer the door
and say they couldn’t talk for long; they
had to get back inside for a Zoom meet-
ing. One Northampton resident had his
headset on when he came to the door. He
said he wasn’t sure if he was voting yet
and went back inside.

Th e walking, the knocking, that split
second you get to convince someone that
you matter more than a solicitor; it all felt
tiring. But Breyman and Stoltz had been
at this for months, starting when they
announced their campaigns in April.

During his summer laps, Breyman was
off ered water by some constituents.

“Today, I feel energized,” Stoltz said.

“Yesterday, I was tired.”
It is always energizing, though, when
a resident steps out of their home and
onto the front porch. Breyman and
Stoltz start racing through their names,
hometowns and most important issues.

(For Breyman, it’s ending the red-blue
divide; for Stoltz, it’s maintaining the
right to an abortion and supporting
small businesses.)
Th en they start asking questions. Are
you voting? What matters to you? Can
I count on your support? Some voters
already know who they are supporting.

But others are not so sure. And to them,
a good conversation can be convincing.

“All right man,” said one Republican-
leaning voter to Breyman. “I appreciate
you showing up here.”
Breyman, Stoltz and their campaigns
have knocked on tens of thousands of
doors. And to do that day aft er day, they
have made sacrifi ces. Breyman no longer
devotes as much time to his educational
tech company Coursalytics. Stoltz needs
her mom to handle dinner for her three
children once a week.

Neither campaign has done much
polling, so they are unsure if they will
win. Th at makes it essential to leave
everything on the fi eld, they explained.

Stoltz said she was looking forward to
election night because she would be able
to relax at home with her family. Th ey
plan to order pizza.

“Th ey are excited and look up to the
fact that I’m running for offi ce,” Stoltz
said. “But they are looking forward to
being beyond Election Day.” JE
H O L D C O U R T.

jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com
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