As the United States hurtles towards a presidential election this November between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump, AFP has been taking the temperature in key counties of seven battleground states.
Wisconsin’s Outagamie County has emerged as a swing district in a state pivotal to both presidential candidates.
Here is what some of the voters are saying:
Republican Party activist Pam Van Handel
For Pam Van Handel, chairwoman of the Republican Party of Outagamie County, “what matters the most is the economy and business, and where the country is going.”
She added: “My biggest fear is that we can’t afford to keep having everybody come across the border illegally, and the economy.”
Democratic state candidate Kristin Alfheim
Kristin Alfheim, a Democrat running for Wisconsin’s state Senate, says what matters to her most in this election is the preservation of democracy.
“It’s knowing that whoever leads this country is going to be respectful of not only the people but other nations across the world, that we’ll work together to find solutions for a good economy, for a good, healthy society,” she told AFP.
“My biggest fear is that we lose the concept of being good, welcoming people. We are literally founded on the concept that this is a great place to be, to become whoever you want to be, to be kind, to be welcomed for whatever reason, to escape places where they can’t be. The concept of nationalism, and trying to reduce that or change that, or exclude people from that welcomed community, is wrong. I don’t want that.”
Retiree Casey Stern
For retiree Casey Stern, the economy is the “number one issue” and Trump is the candidate who can steer the ship.
“The economy, getting things back on track, getting inflation under control — only president Trump can do that,” Stern told AFP.
“My biggest fears for my country, if it continues as is, is the moral decay of our society. Everywhere you look, everything’s upside down, everything’s backwards, everything’s how it shouldn’t be. Things couldn’t be more wrong.”
Community organizer Michael Hovde
Community organizer Michael Hovde, 28, says it’s difficult to put any issue above climate change and the fight to limit global warming.
“We could solve all the other problems. If we don’t address climate change, we just all die, but that seems like not the solution we want,” Hovde told AFP.
As for his biggest fears for the country, Hovde said: “I am pretty scared of a few things. Having done organizing for a couple of years, a few years ago a big concern of people was rising fascism. Now that’s largely been expressed as protecting democracy as the concern.”
