Brendan Ferguson, 15, of Darien was a Linda McMahon supporter until he attended a meet and greet with the republican candidates in Norwalk in March.
Christopher Shays, who is running for U.S. Senate against the endorsed republican candidate Linda McMahon, approached the Darien High School sophomore at the event, shook his hand and passed him his business card. He told Ferguson to call the number on the card if he wanted to help with his campaign.
“I was originally a McMahon fan, actually,” said Ferguson, “but when he came up to me it was really cool. He was genuine. You can tell he really cares about people. Not that Linda doesn’t, but it made a good impression on me.”
So when summer vacation came around, Ferguson started working for Shays.
Ferguson said he’s helped out about two days a week throughout most if the summer by making phone calls and photo copies. But for the last two weeks, he’s pushed off his part time job as a caddy at Woodway Country Club in Darien and started volunteering at Shays’ campaign headquarters in Stratford five days a week.
It’s been a busy couple weeks for Ferguson. Yesterday, he woke up at 4 a.m. to get out the vote at the Noroton Heights train station. Yesterday was also the day Ferguson drank his first full cup of coffee.
“I’ve tried it before, but I never had a full cup,” he said. “It helps.”