You may be interested in reading this thread about an applicant with some similar interests as you.
Below is a list of schools that you may want to investigate. They all have Mock Trial, per this list. I focused on schools that were in the designated regions, preferably in or in close proximity to the state capital as, @Shelby_Balik noted, state capitals are a rich area for people interested in policy and politics, and she mentioned some of the same schools. They all offer merit aid, and I suspect that a number of them (especially the extremely likely private schools) would offer you significant merit aid.
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
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Drake (IA): About 2700 undergrads in Des Moines and you can read more about some of the opportunities that would likely be of interest to you in this post.
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George Mason (VA): About 28k undergrads just outside of D.C.
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Hamline (MN): About 1700 undergrads in Saint Paul
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Luther (IA): About 1500 undergrads, and though it’s not near the capital, so long as Iowa is an early caucus state, I suspect that political opportunities will be higher here than at many other colleges in the U.S.
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Michigan State: About 40k undergrads in the metro area of the state capital
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Siena (NY): About 3500 undergrads at this school just outside of Albany
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U. at Albany (NY): About 12k undergrads
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U. of Minnesota – Twin Cities: About 40k undergrads
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U. of New Hampshire: About 11k undergrads. Although this is 50m from the NH State House, so long as NH remains an early primary state, I suspect that political opportunities will also be higher here than at other colleges in the U.S.
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Virginia Commonwealth: About 21k undergrads
Likely (60-79%)
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College of New Jersey: About 7100 undergrads less than 15m from the NJ legislature
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Fordham (NY): About 10k undergrads, of which about 7k are at the Rose Hill campus which is the one I think you’d prefer
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Providence (RI): About 4200 undergrads
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U. of St. Thomas (MN): About 6k undergrads at this Saint Paul school
Toss-Up (40-59%)
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Dickinson (PA ): About 2200 undergrads a half hour from the PA State Capitol
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Ohio State: About 46k undergrads
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U. of Wisconsin – Madison: About 37k undergrads
Lower Probability (20-39%)
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Macalester (MN): About 2100 undergrads
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U. of Richmond (VA): About 3100 undergrads
Low Probability (less than 20%)
- Washington & Lee (VA): About 1900 undergrads. Not near a capital but, like Gettysburg, has a lot of D.C. connections
ETA: I was debating about whether to include Hendrix since it’s a bit further south, but I’m going to throw it in here as well. It’s about 35m from the AR State Capitol, offers strong academics, is a likely admit, and is likely to give you sufficient merit aid to make this an affordable option. You can read a profile of it here: Hendrix College – Colleges That Change Lives