"Student Democrat as 'Campus Kingmaker' in Iowa"

The Chronicle of Higher Education:

Democratic presidential candidates who want to succeed at the University of Iowa are “sucking up” to Atul Nakhasi, a junior who is president of the institution’s student-Democrats group, reports The Wall Street Journal.

In the article, headlined “Iowa’s Campus Kingmaker,” the Journal describes how Mr. Nakhasi has revitalized the group and is making sure it plays a prominent role in candidates’ campus visits.

He has nearly doubled the size of the e-mail list, from 630 last year to more than 1,200, and has created an executive board, comprising leaders of campus groups that support particular Democrats.

In 2004, the article says, the university’s student Democrats splintered, with Howard Dean supporters dropping out when the group endorsed John Kerry. This time around, the group will stay away from naming a favorite contender, Mr. Nakhasi told the newspaper.

So far he has given Hillary Rodham Clinton an awkward onstage hug, received a handwritten thank you from her husband, and lunched privately with Joseph R. Biden Jr., the newspaper reports. Mr. Nakhasi also facilitated a campus visit by Bill Richardson and is scheduled to be onstage today when Barack Obama shows up at the university.

“Bringing out the youth vote, many campaigns say, is like planning a party: Get five popular people involved, and a hundred people show up,” says the Journal. “Mr. Nakhasi, with his leadership position and inexhaustible energy, plays that role.”