TUSTIN, Calif. – Knocking on a stranger’s door can be a nerve-racking experience, but Dan and Gail Carstens say it will be worth it if the primary election goes their way.

“We can’t leave the world the way it is,” says Dan Carstens.

The married couple is in their 70s. They signed up to help canvas neighborhoods after the last presidential election.

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“When the last election happened in 2016, it was for us, so traumatic. Instead of sitting around and gaining another 20 pounds, we got out and said we’re going to do what we have to do,” says Gail Carstens.

When a Democrat and a single mom of three named Katie Porter announced she was running to flip the 45th Congressional District seat, which was never taken by anyone other than a Republican before, the Carstens’ got on board.

“We knew she was good, but we didn’t know she was is that good. She more than fulfilled our expectations,” says Carstens.

 

 

 

The Carstens’ canvassed neighborhoods for five months in 2018 in the blistering heat and helped Katie Porter win and turned Orange County blue. Two years later, Congresswoman Katie Porter is running for re-election and there are six GOP candidates competing to take her on.

“These folks worked so hard for months and months in 2018 and now to see them bringing their energy, bringing their skills and activating our community to work here for the march 3rd primary,” says Rep. Katie Porter.

The 45th District stretches from Mission Viejo to Anaheim. The Carsten’s Tustin neighborhood is located in the middle. The district still leans red so whichever GOP challenger gets the most votes on March 3 will likely move on to an election against Porter in November.

Dan Carstens is a retired engineer and his wife is a librarian. The Carstens’ say one of the reasons why they support Katie is because of her stance on strengthening public schools and education.

“We hear people at our coffee shop that are our age and all they do is talk about don’t vote for any money for schools because they don’t have any more kids to go. They forget that somebody paid for their schools. It’s part of pay ahead,” says Carstens.

The Carstens’ say they’ve been fortunate to have an education and good lives. Even though they don’t have any grandchildren of their own, they say they want others to have the same, if not better, opportunities. They believe that voting blue will help future generations get there.