Meet the 'Presidential Selfie Girls': The Teens Trying to Take Selfies With Every 2016 Candidate
How two New Hampshire sisters scored selfies with 19 candidates, and counting.
— -- Most teenagers haven’t met one presidential candidate. Ever.
These New Hampshire teenagers have met 19. And they’re not done yet.
Sisters Emma and Addy Nozell are on a mission: to get a selfie with every person running for president.
“It started when Emma took a selfie with Chris Christie,” Addy, 17, said. “I was the one who said do it with everyone.”
That was earlier this summer. Since then, the teens from Merrimack, New Hampshire, have snapped photos all but four candidates.
“It’s like Pokemon,” mom Wendy Nozell said. “They gotta catch ‘em all.”
Pro Tips for Selfie Seekers
So how do you get the next potential leader of the free world to make time for you?
It helps being in New Hampshire, with its first-in-the-nation primary. And it helps that selfies are the new autographs; candidates who don’t want to be seen as stodgy are more than willing to smile for a quick photo.
But, most importantly, you have to be bold.
At a 4th of July parade in Concord, they staked out spots in the middle of the road and ran up to candidates. At a Bernie Sanders rally, they claimed seats in the front row, and rushed the stage when he finished speaking. Other times, they stand at unoccupied places on a rope line and make eye contact with the White House hopeful.
That’s when the sales pitch begins.
“We explain what we’re doing. We say, ‘Would you take time to take a selfie with us? We’re doing it with all the presidential candidates,” Addy said.
That, said Emma, 15, is the key line. “Once they hear we have other people, and that they’re not the first, they think, ‘I should get on this,’” she said.
Campaigns have taken notice. Their mom told ABC News that several campaigns have made contact with her, setting up “selfie appointments” during appearances.
“Our girls have become a scheduled event in New Hampshire,” Nozell said.
Who’s the Best Selfie Taker?
“I liked [Martin] O’Malley,” Addy said of the former Maryland governor. “He was very energetic.”
Emma, meanwhile, was still beaming over a snapshot with Ben Carson, who is on record as anti-selfie. “I was really proud of that, because I know he didn’t like it,” she said. “But I went up to him and said, ‘It would mean a lot to do this project and have you in it.’ And he was into it.”
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, with their hectic schedules and large staffs, were the most difficult to lock down.
No one has refused yet.
“Carly [Fiorina] was hesitant, but she did it,” said Addy, adding that Rick Perry didn’t even look at the lens, a major selfie faux pas.
Picking Up Steam
Their Twitter feed, @PrezSelfieGirls, has been steadily gaining followers.
Their mom said it started off as a hobby, but it’s become something bigger.
“Through these selfies, these kids are actually teaching others about some of the candidates,” she said. “Friends will say to me, ‘I didn’t even know that’s what he looked like.’ These kids are teaching, and getting other kids interested in politics.”
As for their next targets, Emma and Addy have been eyeing the campaign calendar. They’ve got four more, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee and Jim Webb, who comes to town on Saturday.
They’ll be waiting, smartphones in hand.
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