[ad_1]
In 2016, Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by a 19 percent margin in Lucerne. For the Democrats in a county that “always” voted Democratic, it was completely unheard of.
– Many voted for Trump to give the elites a crook of noses. The Industrial Revolution started here in Northeast Pennsylvania, with high-quality coal. Now people feel like they don’t need them anymore, says Bob Caruso.
But he’s a Democrat on his neck and believes that Joe Biden with his “vanilla profile” is “the perfect anti-Trump.” Bob believes that Biden’s more empathetic profile attracts many women.
Caruso believes that Biden strongly attracts older voters, people his age. They are anxious about the consequences of Trump’s coronation policy.
Photo: Gro Holm / NRK
The Pennsylvania party has hired him for a “voter protection” project.
Voters don’t trust the mail
Many of the voters outside the polling station in the small town of Wilkes-Barre brought complete mail ballots with them in an envelope. Bob offers to check that everything has been filled out correctly and that the envelope is sealed when it is dropped into a blue metal box that is just outside the security check at the voting station.
– I make sure no votes are wasted. The people of Pennsylvania are not used to voting early and by mail. Now every vote counts.
Ann and Michael Hopkins are among those who do not risk the votes disappearing in the mail. This choice is too important.
Ann and Michael Hopkins placed the envelopes with the completed ballots in the blue box outside the voting station.
Photo: Gro Holm / NRK
– For me, the president is a stain, just for being the person he is. I don’t think I need to say more, says Ann. She is a very polite old lady.
– Trump has ruined the dignity of the presidency, says Michael.
They are both against self-determined abortion and on a collision course with Joe Biden in that case. But they believe that the most important thing now is to get rid of Trump.
An adult lady in the same queue follows him.
– We are trying to save our country. I am 80 years old and that is the most important election I have ever voted for, says Joan.
Joan, 80, has voted in every election since she was granted the right to vote. She believes that this is the most important of all.
Photo: Gro Holm / NRK
Attendance registration at the party office
American holidays are not like Norwegian ones. Between elections, party organizations are completely invisible at the local level. But as Election Day approaches, it should preferably be full of chaotic energy.
This was not the case in 2016, says party leader Kathy Bozinski.
– People have told me a thousand times “Hillary never came here in 2016.” You couldn’t even get a Hillary garden sign without paying $ 25. Alternatively, you had to commit to going door-to-door for 15 hours. It became too much for many older people, Kathy says.
Kathy Bozinski previously worked as a presenter at a local television station. Trump’s election in 2016 brought her into politics.
Photo: Gro Holm / NRK
Now there is a steady stream of voters at the party’s campaign office in downtown Wilkes-Barre. Car signs and stickers are free, and people buy caps and bandages for Biden.
– The engagement is absolutely phenomenal, look at that queue, say when she is going to vote and see the queue outside the polling station.
NRK cannot enter the facility itself, as Norway is a “red country” on the US list.
Trump voters want shale oil
In the televised debate between Trump and Biden last Thursday, the president claimed that Biden would ban “fracking” or extraction of shale oil and gas in the United States.
In the state of Pennsylvania, 32,000 people work in this part of the economy and Norwegian Equinor is an operator in the giant Marcellus field. It spans several states in the United States.
Bryan is one of the few in line outside the electoral college to vote for Trump. He cites Biden’s opposition to “fracking” as the main reason.
Bryan also voted for Trump in 2016. He works as a security camera installer and believes that Biden with his policy is “a danger to the country.”
Photo: Gro Holm / NRK
– The bite will destroy the country. He has admitted that he wants to ban “fracking.” Plus, he wants to raise taxes and take our guns away, says Bryan.
Biden: – I don’t want to ban “fracking”.
In a “public meeting”, with the audience in cars, today in Pennsylvania, Biden repeated that he not will prohibit the extraction of oil and gas from shale. He wants to ban new fields on “land owned by the federal authorities.” It is something completely different and much less intrusive.
Joe Biden appeared very energetic during a meeting with voters in Bristol, Pennsylvania this afternoon.
Photo: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
He said the same thing during Thursday’s debate, but Trump didn’t want to hear that ear.
Because he knows that Biden has a problem with the left in the party. They want to ban “fracking” entirely, and previously vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris was in favor of the ban.
There are several reports that “fracking” has contaminated drinking water and contributed to increased emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas.
During the presidential debate on Thursday, Biden said he will phase out the production of all fossil energy by 2050. He also noted that there are great opportunities for US companies in the production of environmentally friendly energy.
There were many women among Biden voters in cars during the public meeting in Bristol today.
Photo: Angela Weiss / AFP
But for voters in the rust belt, this is little consolation. New “green” companies are unlikely to be established here.
Caruso warns with Hitler
– Biden is a guy who knows us. He knows who we are, how anxious people are about the economic situation and the social consequences. Families are falling apart as a result of unemployment here in Lucerne, says Bob Caruso.
Trust that Biden will not make matters worse. He also believes that many fear four new years with Trump. Surrounded by several adult voters, he gives a short history lesson.
– We saw in 1932 how the conservatives supported Hitler. They thought it was okay. They would have their tax breaks, more industrial production. But they quickly regretted it. The chances of Trump winning are small, but real, Caruso concludes.
But according to website 538, Biden’s lead in the polls has dropped by 1.4 percentage points in the last two weeks here in Pennsylvania. It currently leads with 5.8 percent.
