KENOSHA, Wis. — In TMJ4’s final installation of our “Road to November” series, Shannon Sims and Charles Benson took a trip to Kenosha to talk with voters ahead of Tuesday’s election.
They talked with a first-time voter, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, and a veteran. The three are diverse in their opinions, but share similarities in what is driving them to the polls.
You can watch the full interview in the video at the top of this article.
Young voter Meredith Kaufman said George Floyd’s death was a defining moment for her.
“That was the point when we created our group chat, which is so Gen Z of us, but we made that group chat and we started talking about (how) we want to do something,” Kaufman said. “We want to go out there. The youth voice was really important to us and remains really important to us.”
When the Roe v. Wade’s decision came down, Kaufman said she was horrified.
“I don’t even know how to put it into words,” she said. “Personally, if it came down to this, the decision wouldn’t affect me or my family because it would be incredibly easy either financial access, I have the transportation means to be able to get the health care that I would need, but it made me horrified for the people who wouldn’t be able to get that access.”
Veteran Jerry Leitermann echoed those concerns.
“Basically the main concern right now is women’s rights to abortion,” he said. “States are fighting. It’s a woman’s right, not a politician’s.”
For voter Ron Mezera, he is hoping both political parties can come together. When asked what matters most to him, he responded, “Somebody who’s gonna be honest in the offices that
they’re elected to. I’m kind of upset with one party over the other right now… I just hope that as a unit, state government and the United States governments can get together as two parties instead of divided parties…It’s not a bad country , don’t get me wrong. We could do a lot better.”
Trump supporter Pat Cowles is also upset about the divide in the country.
“I’ve always voted from the time I’ve been 18,” Cowles said. “I see this country kind of being divided a lot of ways and I think that’s really terrible. I’d like to see them come back together as a group so we’re not fighting skin color, we’re not fighting age, we ‘re not fighting anything other than the matters of matters.”
You can see all our Road to November reports and other related election stories on our Decision 2022 page.
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