ABC News(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — With 56 days until the 2016 presidential election, ABC News hit the road to talk to voters in the battleground state of Ohio.
This week, the plan was to drive more than 800 miles and visit six Ohio counties — stopping at coffee clubs, college campuses and county fairs along the way. The goal is simple: to hear from voters.
Four years ago, Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney in Ohio by less than 2 percentage points. Last week, a Quinnipiac poll had Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in a dead heat in the must-win state: Trump 46 — Clinton 45. It’s anyone’s game.
We hope people won’t be shy, but will spin the wheel and answer the random questions: “If you could pick anyone to be the next president, who would it be?”, “What is the first thing the next president should do after taking office?”, “What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve heard this campaign?”
It has been a roller coaster of an election and we’re going to keep talking about all of it.
Thursday, Sept. 15
On Wednesday, we visited college campuses and talked to students about the upcoming election. Thursday, the plan is to talk to more voters over some coffee and…. yes…. some hot dogs.
The college campuses showcased younger voters’ interest in third party candidates as well as stronger support for Clinton and the Democratic Party than we had seen in more rural parts of the state.
A new Bloomberg News poll out this week revealed that about nine percent of likely Ohio voters were still undecided. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson garnered about ten percent of support in the state, according to Bloomberg’s poll, and more than double that among voters under 35 years old. We saw this age gap firsthand during our visit to Ohio State and Kent State Universities where Johnson’s name came up frequently.
The more traditional party voters on the campuses vocalized concern over the two major party candidates too. Several young Democrats expressed anxiety over Clinton’s more hawkish foreign policy and Republicans spoke regrettably about Trump’s tone and divisive language.
“I’m going to vote for Hillary. I know some people may not like that. But to me it’s one thing to know policies it’s another thing to have a heart for the human spirit. And one of the things that really showed me that Hillary was president was when she said to a 10-year-old girl that your parents will not be deported. I don’t care who you are, where you’re from everyone should have their parents, regardless if you’re an immigrant or natural born citizen,” one young man at Kent State said, reflecting a distinct change in attitude on the subject of immigration from what he had heard during interviews in other parts of the state earlier in the week.
Another student, when asked what the priority should be for the next president on the first day of office, said, “These are the two most unpopular candidates in the history of presidential elections. So there’s a lot of healing that needs to be done and a lot of camaraderie that needs to be fostered in the nation.”
One young fashion major even had style advice for the two candidates. She said Trump needed a new hairdo and Clinton should be more “edgy.”
“Her suits are boring. I like edgy so I think it should be more edgy like form fitting, not inappropriate because you know, that would be negative…. but if it was cute and chic that’ll work. Sharp cuts.”
Next stop: The ‘Utica Coffee Club,’ where Democrats and Republicans alike reportedly meet daily to debate. Stay tuned.
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