It’s a shame that North Carolina’s primary elections are so far down the road that most of the major candidates don’t care to stop in our fair state. But just to the south of Charlotte, the Democrats and the Republicans are fighting to win over voters.
What do the people of South Carolina — particularly York County — have to say about who’s going to get their vote in the Republican and Democratic primaries?
The GOP: South Carolina Republicans will head to the polls on Jan. 19th. Pollsters predict that Republican Mike Huckabee will carry the state. But, Jonathan Fritz says that he hasn’t decided who’s going to get his vote.
“McCain seems like he’s reinvented himself again for the election,” he says of Arizona Senator John McCain. “I don’t know enough about [Mitt] Romney and Huckabee; they seem like the newcomers on the scene.”
Glenn McCall, chairman of the York County GOP, says that South Carolina isn’t a given for any Republican candidate right now and that’s a good thing.
“The state is wide open,” he says. “This is so exciting because there hasn’t been a republican candidate that has won the nomination without winning South Carolina.”
Glenn says that even though polls show that Huckabee is likely to win the state, there’s support for everyone on the ticket, even former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
“He has strong support in our costal areas,” says Glenn. And he adds that with the number of northerners who now call South Carolina home, there’s a chance that Giuliani may have a good showing in the Palmetto State.
“This election,” he says, “is about Supreme Court justices.”
The Republican faithful, according to Glenn, want a president in office who will appoint more justices like Samuel Alito.
The Democrats: On Jan. 26, the Democrats will be voting to see who gets the nod to go on and seek the job of president. For William Richardson, who normally votes Republican, Barack Obama has impressed him.
“I voted Republican last time and I’m leaning toward the Democratic side this time,” he says from the Knife Shop in downtown Fort Mill.
“The one that has really impressed me has been Obama. I don’t believe he’s obligated to the big money, so right now, I think about [voting for] him.”
York County teacher and Army reservist Jennifer Nelson is also supporting Obama.
“He is culturally bilingual,” she says. “People who have been a part of the dominant culture have never had to get to know minorities to survive.”
Obama, says Nelson, understands the language of the majority but can speak to minorities.
“As we become a more global country, we need a leader who can code switch.”
And, Nelson says she likes where Obama stands on education, which she believes is the top priority in the election.
“If we’re going to compete globally, we have to be educated with a firm grasp of technology,” she says.
Sheila Spire, a clerk at a Fort Mill BP station, says she’s not voting for another Republican.
“The Republicans have just let everything get out of hand. Our gas prices are too high and our economy has just gone to crap,” she says.
Spire says she’s torn between New York Senator Hillary Clinton and former North Carolina Senator John Edwards.
“I think that John Edwards is a good family man. I think he’s honest and respectful,” she says. “Hillary Clinton, I think would be a good leader and it’s time for a woman in the White House.”
This article appears in Jan 16-22, 2008.
