Walking into Matt Doles central Ohio home, its abundantly clear he loves his work.
Adorning the walls of the political consultants 19th-century house are posters, banners, framed newspaper clippings and other political campaign memorabilia dating as far back as the Civil War including items supporting prohibition. Im not a teetotaler, I just like the pennants, says Dole 01.
I work in politics part of my job is working on campaigns and you accumulate [campaign items] just working in politics. So, at one point, I said I either need to start to collect or throw it all out. And, so I chose to collect.
Doles collection focuses on his adopted state: Ohio.
A lot of people in the hobby will focus on one candidate or one type of item. If its Ohio, Ill collect it down to the township trustee level. I have a Boehner for Township Trustee [sign]. Thats real local. And any type I have paper, buttons, posters; if its Ohio, Ill collect it.
Cabinets, shelves and walls in an upstairs office show the breadth of Doles collection, including a wall showcasing one of his largest caches items from the Taft family. From a Gov. Bob Taft bobblehead to a pair of No Graft for Taft nylons from the 1948 Howard Taft vs. Harry Truman presidential election, its hard for Dole to pass up any Taft-related swag he finds on eBay, at auctions or at political memorabilia shows.
Ohios 67th governor, Bob Taft, visited Doles home when he was in the area.
Matt has the best collection of Taft family pieces I have seen anywhere four generations from President Taft, my great-grandfather, to my grandfather, Sen. Robert A. Taft (Mr. Republican), my father, Sen. Robert Taft Jr., and my own campaigns for Secretary of State and Governor, Taft says. He has worked hard at his collection for a number of years and has a detailed knowledge of the candidates and their campaigns and offices held.
> Rooms in Matt Doles central Ohio home are dedicated showcases for his political campaign collection
Dole first became interested in politics after a man running for state representative in his home state of Vermont visited his familys home.
In 1990, I was 11, and a guy came to our house. We lived right at a T intersection of two major thoroughfares and we had a big second story. He wanted to put a banner out like a 30-foot banner on our porch. It interested me that he sort of came and asked us for help. I remember thinking, He needs us to help him? Dole says.
The candidate a Democrat like Doles parents ended up winning, and Dole was hooked, though he aligned himself with the Republican Party. After majoring in History at Marietta, working in local politics and writing a political blog, Dole drew the attention of a communications consulting firm that works with political campaigns. He began working for the firm full-time at the end of 2007.
Weve done U.S. Senate races, Congressional races Bill Johnson [the Congressman who represents Mariettas district] is a client so I get to stay involved in Marietta and southeast Ohio politics, Dole says. Ive now worked or volunteered on nearly 200 campaigns, so it doesnt really get tiring. Its really the competition for me. I think Im really working to help make the world better, but its a chess match and its a thousand decisions, and you get a final decision, and you move on to the next ones.
As for his hobby, Dole doesnt believe his collection will ever be complete.
I have a list of things that I want, and when I find them I get excited, Dole says, pointing out a Taft for President poster on his office wall that he had recently added to his collection. Ive known of it for about five years and had never seen one before. Someone actually emailed me and asked, How much is that Taft for President portrait poster worth? I was like, You found the right guy because its worth a lot more to me than to anyone else. Its nice to add those things as we go.
- Gi Smith