[ad_1]
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – While Peter Johnson and Emily Neal were waiting for the arrival of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at Barley's, a brick-lined sports bar in southwestern Iowa, they pitched potential candidates for the presidential primary Democrat.
Mr. Johnson, a 27-year-old law student, said the wide field was a great equalizer. "If, in the end, we get a white old man, someone who represents the status quo, it will be because" have proven themselves. "
Mrs. Neal, a dental hygienist, winced at Mr. Johnson, her boyfriend. Would not we lose something, she asked, if the list of democrats of 2020, historically diverse, was left out?
"Personally, I would love to see a woman," said Ms. Neal, also 27, at the Thursday night event. "If people are crazy and hold a bad or a race against a candidate, it will break my heart."
Interviews with several dozen Democratic voters across the country show how the party, which has won victories in 2018 and which was propelled by female and non-white candidates, is now grappling with two complex issues regarding race , gender and politics at the time of Trump.
Is a White the best face for an increasingly diverse Democratic party in 2020? And what is the biggest gamble: to appoint a white man and risk disappointing part of the party base, or appoint a minority candidate or a woman who may have trouble leading majority-white states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania both Barack Obama and President Trump won?
Pam Van Arsdale, 64, of Bedford, NH, said she would like to see a minority or female candidate ignite, and fears that the appointment of a white man will lead some Liberals to not not vote in November 2020.
"I consider myself a centrist democrat halfway. And the progressive side worries me. What will they do? Will they sit down if they do not like the best candidate? "Did she say when she was attending a recent event for the senator Cory Booker.
But Lee Kujawa, 72, of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, near Milwaukee, pleaded for Biden, considering him "the most eligible."
"He can stand up to Trump," said Kujawa, who said he believed the party would not pay a penalty by offering his first white man since John Kerry in 2004. Referring to Biden, he has Kamala Harris as a running mate; she is one of my three favorites. "
Many of the voters polled said that the most important qualification was the ability to defeat Mr Trump, who was more angry than pleased with the recent publication of the Mueller report and who wanted a political victory not tainted by questions of legitimacy. For some, the best Democratic candidate will be the one who can apprehend the voters who supported Mr. Trump in states such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as the Democrats did with some success in 2018 to overthrow the House. .
Jason Pinkowski, 35, who lives in the suburbs of Milwaukee, has wiped out several Democrats – MM. Biden and Sanders because they are too old and Mr. O. Rourke because he is too young – to get to Mr. Booker and Mrs. Harris as the current favorite.
"In short, if a Democrat decides to spend time in the Midwest, I think he'll have a good chance," he said.
The presumption that the Democrats will defeat Mr. Trump, regardless of the proposed candidate, has already harmed the party. Hillary Clinton, her campaign strategy, media and F.B.I. have all been blamed for his loss. For some reason, she lost votes in Michigan and Wisconsin in 2016 compared to Obama in 2012, notably because of a noticeable drop among black voters.
Mr. Trump, in turn, energized the Republican base, which seems to remain mostly loyal to him, and also won over some Midwestern voters who had once supported Obama.
David Pepper, chairman of the Democratic Party of Ohio, said the key to successful elections in 2020 was a diversified presidential ticket capable of ending the haemorrhage of rural and white voters. excite minority voters. He highlighted the success of Senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio by appealing to both voters when he re-elected in 2018 to a state that would otherwise have voted for Republicans in national campaigns.
"If between ticket you have someone who has this populist brand of economic Sherrod Brown, but also the diversity that will energize Cuyahoga County so that you have a margin of more than 200,000 against 150,000, I think that you win Ohio and all the rest of these Midwestern states, "said Pepper, referring to the Democratic-dominated county dominated by the predominantly black city of Cleveland (admittedly Mr. Trump won Ohio by eight percentage points in 2016.)
Roderick West, 62, said he wanted to support Biden because of his experience as vice president. Mr Sanders' supporters say his calls for a large-scale change in the country's economic order make him a candidate for transformation, regardless of the color of the skin. And some of Buttigieg's admirers claim that as a gay man, he brings diversity to the field and is a candidate for a renaissance of history.
In conversations in eastern Iowa, Democratic voters acknowledged that they had a boost after a mid-term campaign, largely defined by the success of women and people of color. Many of those surveyed seem almost resigned to having a white candidate, reserving their anguish at what they see as a greater priority than diversity at the top of the list of Democrats: defeating Mr. Trump.
"It's important to appeal to Republicans. I do not know if a minority candidate can do that, "said Catherine Rohret, who turns 18 in June after following O'Rourke's campaign in Waterloo, Iowa. "It hurts me to say because I am a black woman. I would love to see a female candidate.
Rachel Cox, 35, of Iowa City, seemed exhilarated despite freezing temperatures moments after meeting with O'Rourke at St. Patrick's Day 5K in North Liberty, Iowa. An Old Texan Waiting After the Mid-Session of 2018 to Transfer Her Registration to Iowa – To Vote for Mr. O'Rourke – Cox said a Caucasian Candidate Could Be Better Positioned to Form a Winning Coalition .
"There could be two sides to this story," she said to the question of whether the appointment of another white man could reduce voter turnout in some parts of the party. "Beto could bring a lot of moderate Republicans who may be a little opposed to voting for women or voting for minorities."
Ms. Cox had good reason to be concerned about the role of discrimination in voter choice. On several occasions during Ms. Warren's south tour, men who attended an event with the Mbadachusetts senator rejected the support of her candidacy using badist terminology.
"Trump is going to crush a woman," said Carl West, 64, on his way to the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala, walking to meet Mrs. Warren. "He will only overthrow a woman."
Diane Henning, 70, a retired accountant from outside Milwaukee, disagreed. She said it would be a mistake for Democrats to appoint a white man in 2020.
"There are so many good women who could do the job," she said. "I think women are much more open minded, we have certainly been all those years."
For Hannah Reid, a 22-year-old Tampa University graduate who recently heard from Buttigieg at an event, her decision to choose a Democratic candidate will go beyond identity.
"I am a woman of color, but that's not all I am," said Mrs. Reid, a black woman. Referring to Mr. Buttigieg, she stated, "He is in the L.G.B.T. community, which we have never seen before. It must be more than just who you are; it must be what you think and what you say, what are your ideas. "
Source link
