Alabama senators who were elected to top two offices at Boys State repeat the feat during Boys Nation presidential, vice presidential elections.
“Sweet Home Alabama” rang out throughout the auditorium during the closing hour of Day 5 of American Legion Boys Nation. And it must have felt like home again for a pair of Boys Nation senators.
In late May, Luke Lawson and Nick Frazier were elected governor and lieutenant governor, respectively, of Alabama Boys State. Fast forward two months later, and the pair did it again, although this time at a national level. Running on the Federalist ticket, Lawson won the presidential election. Just minutes later, Frazier’s name was called for winning the vice-presidential race.
It’s believed to be the first time since 2003 that two senators from the same state were elected to the program’s highest offices. Ironically, it also was two Alabama Boys State alums who were elected: President Charlie Walker and Vice President Richard Friedman.
“All we said before we left Boys State was, ‘I’ll run for president and you run for vice president’, and that’s what I did,” Frazier said. “And I’m glad our plan worked out. Not a lot of states can say they’ve been able to bring home both of the top two seats at Boys Nation.”
Lawson, who was sponsored for Boys State by Bradley Keller Post 119 in Abbeville and is a senior at Headland High School, said his time at Alabama Boys State gave him the confidence to run for Boys Nation president.
“I saw the leadership that I exhibited at Boys State,” he said. “I came from a small, rural school in Alabama, and I was going up against people in Tuscaloosa, in Birmingham, in Huntsville. And I thought there’s no way … this is going to be possible. But I took the time to shake the hands, make the connections, talk to the people about what was personal to them. And then I talked to them about my life. And we ended up winning really big.
“I’m the son of an immigrant and a high school dropout. And here I am in this position. It just speaks volumes about America. And so I took that, and I decided, ‘You know, I’m going to run for president.”
The approach Lawson took to campaigning was about relationships first, policy later. “The strategy was getting to know those people, share their common interest but not telling them too much policy-wise. Because … you’re not going to agree with every single thing that everybody has to say,” he said. “It speaks volumes that you have to be personable with people. You’ve got to go up to them and shake their hands, and make sure that the last thing you tell them is that you’re running for president. My goal in this was just to seem as humble about it as possible. Charismatic, but at the same time knowing what my values are and telling those to people. And making running for president the last thing you bring up in the conversation.”
Lawson said he hears more about what is wrong with his generation than what is right. He appreciated The American Legion not giving up on today’s youth through programs like Boys Nation.
“My grandfather is a member of The American Legion,” he said. “He’s a Korean War veteran. He goes to his meetings. You often see it’s the older generation that is telling my generation like they say in Alabama – ‘that boy ain’t right.’ But the fact these Legionnaires, these veterans are putting on this for us, ignoring what you hear in the media … and just having faith in our generation is something that I’m forever grateful for.
“I advocate for my generation a lot. There’s a lot that we fall short on, but there’s a lot that’s misunderstood. And I think The American Legion is seeing that misunderstanding. And they’re seeing that they can be a beacon for us, and we can be a beacon for the future of our country.”
Frazier, who is legally blind, also came to Boys Nation with a specific plan. “I decided I wanted to leave it all on the line. Go big or go home,” he said. “At Alabama Boys State, I wanted to run for governor. I second-guessed myself because of the amount of people running. And then I decided to run for lieutenant governor, and I got elected into that position.”
But he didn’t come to campaign for the position – at first.
“Ultimately … I really don’t believe in campaigns,” said Frazier, who was sponsored for Boys State by American Legion Post 133 in Millbrook and is a senior at Stanhope Elmore High School. “I believe in the truth, and that’s what I came here to do: speak my truth, speak my character as a person. And if it landed me in this position, which it did, then it was meant to be.
“I am a very faithful person. I believe that God put me here for a reason. Ultimately, not coming here with a campaign and just coming here wanting to speak the truth is what set me apart from other people. I didn’t just go up to them and ask them for their vote. I built connections with them. And then later on … when we got close to the primaries, I started to campaign a little harder for my position.”
In his acceptance speech, he reemphasized the importance of connections and friendship to his fellow senators, borrowing what has become a slogan for Boys Nation.
“The takeaway is it’s the week that shapes a lifetime in friendship,” he said. “It’s the one word that needs to end that sentence, because ultimately, when you leave here at the end of this week, you’re going to keep in contact with a majority of these guys. These great guys that are going to do something in our future.”
Lawson faced off in a debate against Nationalist candidate Beauregard Chiasson of California, during which the two were asked a series of questions focused on issues such as the economy, national security, education, health care, crime and the nation’s drug policy.
A similar debate took place between Frazier and Federal candidate Kethan Neginhal of West Virginia. Among their five questions were the issues of support for veterans, immigration, and the expansion or reform of U.S. programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
Lawson and Frazier were to be inaugurated Wednesday morning. But ahead of that, Frazier’s service dog Morgan was voted his chief of staff by unanimous consent, to the roar of the other senators.
The Highest Court. Earlier in the day, the senators went offsite to visit the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C. In addition to checking out exhibits in the main lobby, the senators were allowed into the courtroom itself and given a briefing from a docent in the court’s Curator’s Office.
The briefing included information on the history of the court, how it decides to hear cases, the procedure for a hearing and how long it takes to provide a ruling. Also shared was how a private citizen could attend a Supreme Court hearing – either enter a lottery or show up on the day of a hearing, when admittance is on a first-come, first-served basis – and the meaning behind the architecture within the courtroom.
“This is your Supreme Court building,” the docent told the senators. “You are welcome to visit at any time.”
On Wednesday’s Ledger. Senators will travel to the Pentagon right after lunch and end the night at Joint Base Meyer-Henderson Hall for Twilight Tattoo. The live military event features soldiers from the U.S. Army Military District of Washington’s ceremonial units, the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) and The U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own”, as well as performances by The U.S. Army Blues, The U.S. Army Band Downrange, The Commander-in-Chief’s Guard, The U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, and The U.S. Army Drill Team.
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