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Nov 02, 2020 By Jake Luppen Photography by Graham Tolbert Lupin

With tomorrow’s election day looming and millions of Americans already voting early, we put the word out to see if any musicians wanted to write about why they were voting for Former Vice President Joe Biden over President Donald Trump in a series we are simply calling Why I’m Voting for Biden. Jake Luppen of Lupin and Hippo Campus wrote this entry.

For those on the left, and the vast majority of the indie rock musicians we tend to cover are left leaning, this is very crucial election, especially as it’s one in the middle of a pandemic that has threatened their very livelihood, with touring put on hold until a vaccine is found and independent venues across America facing possible extinction.

Luppen is the frontman of St. Paul, Minnesota’s Hippo Campus, who have released two studio albums, 2017’s Landmark and 2018’s Bambi, as well as releasing two demos collections in 2019 (Demos I and Demos II). Last month, Luppen released his self-titled debut solo LP under the name Lupin, via Grand Jury.

Visit vote.org or headcount.org to get information on your polling place or on mail in voting, and to find out what else might be on your ballot.

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On November 3rd I’ll be voting for Joe Biden. During the primaries I was an avid Bernie Sanders supporter; the final results were very hard to swallow. I felt a lot of anger and resentment towards the DNC. I didn’t want to cast a vote for a candidate I didn’t fully believe in. I also didn’t fully grasp how much power the president holds. Once the pandemic hit hard I realized that, instead of the leader we need, we have to deal with a man in office who proudly denies science, blatantly spews racist propaganda, and destabilizes the whole notion of truth. We cannot afford to keep this man in office. We have lost too many lives. My friends have lost too many dads. Our nation’s future is on the edge of losing its democracy. We need a leader who prioritizes morality, instead of denouncing it. We need a plan to help us out of this mess, not a blind faith that it will all just “go away.” Though I don’t agree with everything Joe Biden has done in the past, I trust that he will be able to pull us out of this. It’s not the sexiest option, but we must take this step and elect an adult this fall.

www.hippocampus.band

www.lupinmusic.com

www.lupin.bandcamp.com

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