A barnstormer travels around the country or state making political appearances during a political campaign.
The events are typically set up by an advance man to make each stop as seamless as possible.
Origin of “Barnstormer”
The phrase was first used when pilots would travel around the country to entertain with their flying skills.
From All-Things-Aviation:
A typical barnstormer (or a group of barnstormers) would travel across to a village, borrow a field from a farmer for the day and advertise their presence in the town by flying several low passes over it – roaring over the main street at full throttle.
The appearance of the barnstormers was akin to a national holiday. Entire towns were shut down and people would flock to the fields purchasing tickets for the show and plane rides. Locals, most of them never having seen planes before, would be thrilled by the experience. In several towns parties would be organized on such occasions in the honor of the barnstormers.”
Now the word has come to mean a political speech given on the road.
Taegan Goddard is the creator of the Political Dictionary.
He is also the founder of many popular political websites, including Political Wire, Political Job Hunt and the Electoral Vote Map.
Goddard spent more than a decade on Wall Street as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he also served as a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won – Now What?: How Americans Can Make Democracy Work from City Hall to the White House, a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties.
His essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers and magazines across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University.
He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.