2024 From The Back Of Dom's Van.

The year in hey, Wonkette has a photojournalist!

Wonkette staff at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, IL, Thursday, August 22, 2024. Photo by Dominic Gwinn.

I’m not sure when I made the decision to cover the campaign from the back of my little truck. I was living between Appalachia, trying to cover a story that seemed to be going nowhere, and the Eastern Shore of Maryland to care for my ailing father. President Joe Biden’s decision to run again, and not hold any campaign events, had left a lot of us freelancers stuck. There were a lot of us hoping for a good race because, after eight miserable years, we really needed some easy money and fresh portfolios.

Presidential elections in the United States are the dash for the cash. News outlets large and small suddenly open up their wallets and shovel out money for words, photos, video, anything that grabs eyes and ears. TOTAL COVERAGE! If you’re a freelancer, presidential elections are a gift from the news gods because it means a few months of steady paychecks, a fattened Rolodex, maybe a staff gig with juicy benefits or a sweetheart book deal.

But the news is expensive, and I only had my small truck, two cameras aging as fast as the rest of my geriatric reporting gear, and some emergency supplies stashed in the boot. In 2022, I’d spent about two or three months driving around Florida in a vain attempt to cover Charlie Crist’s doomed gubernatorial campaign, mostly because nobody in DC or New York seemed to give a damn. Maybe, I thought, I should try that again?

1) A young woman looks on during a race at the Auburndale Speedway in Auburndale, Florida, May 25, 2024. 2) Brady Street Festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 20, 2024. 3) People in wheelchairs ride through the streets of Benton Harbor, Michigan, on June 24, 2024. 4) People in Dexter, Michigan, celebrate the town's Bicentennial, June 22, 2024. 5) Suicide Bridge, Hurlock, Maryland. March 21, 2024. 6) A cemetery at Reformation Lutheran Church in New Market, Virginia, June 11, 2024. 7) Minneapolis residents at the annual Pride Parade, June 30, 2024. 8) Activist memorials monuments at George Floyd Square, Minneapolis, July 3, 2024. 9) The long defunct and semi-abandoned Caroline County Country Club in Denton, Maryland, April 24, 2024.

When I wasn’t sleeping in the back of my truck at a Walmart, Planet Fitness, Cracker Barrel, empty office or industrial park, or the myriad genuinely sketchy places that seemed unlikely to turn me in for vagrancy, I was sleeping on the couches and in spare bedrooms of friends and colleagues. None of my work would be possible without their help.

My food budget was <$20 a day. I needed to track every expense so I could keep my truck gassed and ready for any last minute events or emergencies. And because I was doing this whole thing on my own, I avoided highways whenever possible so I could stop and grab photos of weird shit happening by.

These photos are just some of the people and places I saw along the way.

1) A truck stop in Kimball, TN, May 20, 2024. 2) A man boards a motorcycle after lunch at Mac's Speed Shop, a barbecue restaurant, in Charlotte, North Carolina, June 11, 2024. 3) "Eve of Destruction" at Marshfield Motor Speedway in Marshfield, Wisconsin, July 6, 2024. 4) The custom-made "Daniel and the Dixie Diggers" automata perform at Huckleberry Junction in Genesee, Michigan, June 21, 2024. 5) Members of the US Secret Service detail for Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff wait in line for ice cream at Belts' Soft Serve in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, July 27, 2024. 6) A faux velociraptor dressed in American flags sits in the yard of Debbie and Glenn McIntosh in Superior Charter Township, Michigan, August 5, 2024. 7) People watch the solar eclipse on the National Mall in Washington DC, April 8, 2024. 8) A solar eclipse on the National Mall in Washington DC, April 8, 2024. 9) A lost couple at the Official Florida Welcome Center in Jennings, Florida, May 22, 2024.

One of the things I noticed very early on was people’s shoes. There was always someone wearing themed socks or shoes at just about every event. Sometimes there was a story behind them, sometimes there wasn’t. Regardless, I made a point at every event to get at least one photo of someone’s shocks or shoes. In the next few weeks I’ll be self-publishing a photobook that collects all these images.

And then there were the conventions. CPAC. Turning Point. White nationalists.

Talk show host Rob Schmidt speaks to Ohio Sen. JD Vance during the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference, Feb. 23, 2024. 2) Peter Navarro gives a speech before reporting to prison, Feb. 24, 2024. 3) Alex Jones and Jack Posobiec speak at the Turning Point USA "People's Convention," in Detroit, Michigan, June 15, 2024. 4) Stephen Miller at the 2024 CPAC DC conference. 5) Donald Trump speaks at the 2024 CPAC DC conference. 6) Rep. Matt Gaetz at the 2024 CPAC DC conference. 7) A man from Colorado wears a bolo tie at the National Conservative Conference in Washington DC, July 10, 2024. 8) Trump supporters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention, July 17, 2024. 9) White nationalist Nick Fuentes holds a rally with hundreds of supporters in Detroit, Michigan, June 15, 2024.

I’m tired of writing. Here are more pictures.

1) Police officers from Charlotte, North Carolina, wait to board a flight at Charlotte International Airport en route to Milwaukee to provide security during the 2024 RNC, July 13, 2024. 2) Donald Trump speaks in Milwaukee on the fourth day of the 2024 RNC, July 18, 2024. 3) People look at a painting by Scott LoBadio showing Vice President Kamala Harris eating an eagle on display at the 2024 Moms for Liberty National Summit in Washington DC, August 30, 2024. 4) People drink beer in a pub as people protesting the RNC march past in Milwaukee, July 15, 2024. 5) Duane Schwingel, aka "Uncle Jam," poses for a photo dressed as Uncle Sam at the Turning Point USA "People's Convention," in Detroit, June 15, 2024. Schwingel travels the country and is a fixture at Trump events. 6) Servers work the National Conservative Conference in Washington DC, July 10, 2024. 7) A young woman waits to ask Vivek Ramaswamy a question at the Turning Point Action People's Conference in Detroit, June 14, 2024. 8) Hulk Hogan speaks in Milwaukee on the fourth day of the 2024 RNC, July 18, 2024. 9) A child winks at a camera during the Turning Point USA "People's Convention," in Detroit, June 15, 2024.

We were so young then.

1) Pouja Lagisetty, 40, and her daughter, Aghna, 10, dressed as Vice President Kamala Harris, attend a rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan, featuring Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Oct. 28, 2024. 2) Supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris at a rally in Ann Arbor, Oct. 28, 2024. 3) Volunteers at the Democratic Party field office in the Livernois Fashion District in Detroit, Oct. 18, 2024. 4) Wonkette editor Rebecca Schoenkopf and Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow at the Democratic Party field office in the Livernois Fashion District in Detroit, Oct. 18, 2024. 5) Flags at a rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Oct. 28, 2024. 6) Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at York Expo Center in York, Pennsylvania, Oct. 2, 2024. 7) Supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris rally in Detroit, Oct. 22, 2024. 8) A weathered sign supporting President Joseph R. Biden in rural Wales, Wisconsin, on July 25, 2024. 9) New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks at Net Roots Nation in Baltimore, Maryland, July 11, 2024.

1) Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz laughs with his daughter, Hope, after speaking at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Aug. 21, 2024. 2) The 2024 DNC in Chicago, Aug. 22, 2024. 3) Vice President Kamala Harris in Flint, Michigan, Oct. 4, 2024. 4) A Democratic activist watches a video about gun violence during the 2024 DNC, Aug. 22, 2024. 5) A young man makes a heart with his hands at the 2024 DNC, Aug. 22, 2024. 6) People watch a debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump at a watch party on the Cherry Street Pier in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sept. 10, 2024. 7) People crowd the floor of the 2024 DNC, as Vice President Kamala Harris accepts the party's nomination for president, Aug. 22, 2024. 8) People watch a debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, Sept. 10, 2024. 9) Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz greet supporters in Ann Arbor, Oct. 28, 2024.

1) A supporter of former president Donald Trump speaks with reporter Alli Novelo, right, during a Trump campaign event featuring the governors of North and South Dakota, Doug Burgum and Kristi Noem, in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, Sept. 12, 2024. 2) Photographers Nima Taradji, left, and Julia Rendleman, right, backstage at the 2024 DNC, Aug. 22, 2024. 3) Journalists and photographers on a press riser during a rally in Flint, Michigan, for Vice President Kamala HarrisOct. 4, 2024. 4) From left to right: Photographers Evelyn Hockstein, Jose Luis Magana, and Nina Berman at the 2024 Moms for Liberty National Summit in Washington DC, Aug. 30, 2024. 5) Supporters of former president Donald Trump harass a video crew during a round table featuring Trump and members of the community in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Oct. 18, 2024. 6) Photographers in a photo pit surrounded by Secret Service during a speech by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at the York Expo Center in York, PA, Oct. 2, 2024.