The Kid Who Ran for President

One day after school lets out in June, Judson and Lane go online to see what people are saying. Across social media, kids promote Moon as the best and only candidate to vote for. Judson says something negative about himself and is attacked by those who support him. The Internet is Judson’s secret weapon. His campaign covers lots of ground in cyberspace, and he doesn’t “even have to do the work” (109). By September, Judson is up to 24% in the polls, and his competitors’ ratings have dropped.

The League of Women Voters invites Judson to debate the other presidential candidates (current President White and Senator Dunn) on national television the week before the election. Judson panics, and Lane shows him a list of issues Americans argue about, along with numbers for how many people favor each item. The list overwhelms Judson, who doesn’t know how to feel about the items because both sides of the arguments make sense. He always agrees with the last perspective someone gives, and he reflects, “Maybe that’s why people like me” (114).