It wasn’t your typical senior prom for Olympia High School’s Jack Bell.
Earlier in the day, while most of his classmates were getting ready for the big dance, Bell was in Pasco delivering a speech in front of 3,000 people at the State Republican Convention.
At stake for the 18-year-old was an opportunity to be one of Washington’s 41 delegates. A victory would make him youngest Washington State Delegate to attend the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
It was the end of what Bell labeled a “long, surprising process.”
He had been told numerous times by countless people he couldn’t win.
How can I lose, Bell thought? He figured even if he came up short in the election, the experience gained was well worth the effort.
“So, I thought I would give it a shot,” Bell declared.
There are two ways someone can be voted in as a county delegate. You either win through a congressional district or as an at-large. Bell’s last hope was the latter since when he first ran through the congressional district his name was oddly left off the ballot, forcing him to run as a write-in.
When that didn’t pan out, he went the at-large route.
It was that process that led him to being in the Tri-Cities this past May, delivering a speech to a full house. The topic was on rallying and energizing the nation’s youth to become more active in politics.
Once finished, Bell immediately headed for the door as he was the only candidate there who could say he had to leave the convention early because his prior engagement was actually his senior prom.
The speech was a resounding success, but the tux had already been rented, the corsage already purchased and Bell wasn’t going to miss one of his last high school events ever.
That’s not to say he didn’t keep tabs on how the voting was carrying out.
“A few people at the delegation were texting me what was going on,” said Bell indicating a few dances were interrupted as his impromptu exit poll filtered in. “I got a few texts saying, ‘It’s going to a second ballot, you’re still in it.’ Then they text me saying it was going to a third ballot.”
Senior prom is supposed to be a time of celebration. Few in attendance that night were as ecstatic as Bell when he got word of his victory.
Before the final dance, it was official, Mr. Bell was going to Cleveland.
“I always have been interested in politics,” said Bell, whose bedroom wall as a child featured a Ronald Reagan campaign poster, “but I wasn’t really able to get involved until I turned 18.”
Once that happened, Bell dove right in and eventually found himself in February at his neighborhood’s precinct caucus “just to get a feel for what it’s like.”
“I wasn’t planning on being a delegate. I just wanted to talk to people,” Bell said. “My precinct committee officer ended up nominating me to be a delegate. The rest voted on it. I accepted that because I thought it would be a good opportunity to check out the Thurston County Convention.”
His speech there resonated with enough people that he was elected unanimously to go to the State Convention.
And somewhere between his speech in Pasco and a trip to the punch bowl at the OHS prom, his fellow state Republican party members elected him as one of 41 delegates to attend the Republican National Convention.
“There’s a concept the Republican party isn’t as welcoming as other groups, but I was welcomed with open arms. I had no connection to the party, they just brought me in,” Bell said. “Even on a national scale I would walk up to a different delegation and wouldn’t know anyone and just start talking.”
Bell, however, wasn’t the only teen delegate to make the trip to Ohio for the convention. He joined two other elected 18-year-old delegates.
“I was really impressed in Cleveland as a whole,” Bell said. “There was some nerves, but I was mostly just excited to be there. Obviously, the thing I was most nervous about was interviews and how I was going to be portrayed by media. The first couple were a lot more nerve wracking, but once it got going it became easier.”
Bell estimated he was interviewed 40 times during the convention from a variety of news sources with most of the discussion centering on his age and how to rally young adults into participating in politics.
When he wasn’t interacting with the press, Bell got together with other delegations, listened to speakers from around the nation, shared ideas with attendees and participated in a youth caucus for delegates under 25-years-old.
“I wanted to go in and get a feel for the candidates without a media basis,” Bell said. “I knew there was going to be a push – either right or left – and I just wanted to see what a candidate was like and I was impressed. The whole experience was beyond what I expected it to be. It was just an incredible experience.”
Bell is currently working for Kim Wyman, a 2016 candidate for Secretary of State. Later this month he will start his college career at Gonzaga University. He plans to study political science and economics, then move on to law school after graduation.
“I want young people to get excited (about politics),” Bell said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s as a Republican or Democrat, just get involved.”
