A member of presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton’s Illinois team spoke to Northwestern’s College Democrats Tuesday evening, emphasizing the importance of grassroots involvement in presidential elections.

Michael Brenner, formerly the Get Out the Vote director for former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s 2014 re-election campaign, discussed ways NU students could get involved in Clinton’s presidential campaign as efforts begin to ramp up for campaign activities in the fall.

Brenner said although Illinois is often viewed as a safe state for Democratic candidates, the election of Republican governor Bruce Rauner and the state’s proximity to battleground states like Iowa demonstrate the importance of organizing early.

College Democrats president Robert Bourret urged club members to get involved, saying the 2016 presidential election will be a tight one.

“This is the first real election in eight years where we have two non-sitting candidates,” the SESP sophomore told The Daily. “Clinton is the most qualified candidate in the race … the only way to make sure Hillary has a better chance of winning is to get involved.”

Bourret did voice some concerns about Clinton, noting she is a moderate, but he believes she has begun to tap into the economic populism that has brought Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) national attention.

SESP freshman Kevin Corkran said he prefers self-declared socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who declared his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination at the end of April. Regardless of who claims the Democratic nomination, Corkran plans to help out with the campaign.

“While I personally prefer Sanders, I hope (his campaign) might move Hillary to the left and embrace more liberal policies,” Corkran told The Daily. “I think it would be really cool to have a woman president to show how far we’ve come as a country.”

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