The Beacon Journal barred partisans from its debate watch party Wednesday night.
Working with poll results from the University of Akron’s Bliss Institute for Applied Politics, the paper invited a handful of independent voters.
No Republicans. No Democrats. Just moderates, many leaning left or right on various issues but not far enough to be labeled.
As a group, the five swing voters who attended the debate watch party represent a diverse slice of the Ohio electorate: a business owner from Canton; a young engineer from North Canton; a Hispanic human resources manager from Stow; and two retirees, including an African-American man from West Akron and a white woman from Green.
They are a Baptist, a Protestant, a Catholic and two that claim no religion, ranging in age from 26 to 71.
They are a Donald Trump supporter, a Hillary Clinton fan and three that, like a quarter of independents in Ohio, have yet to say they’ve decided.
“I think we need to shake the whole government down and start over,” said Chad Mason, a Trump-supporting, two-time Bill Clinton backer who attended the watch party.
“Fire them all,” echoed Alicia Gonzalez, who made it clear she’s giving Clinton her vote.
Despite splitting on presidential preferences, the two had much in common as independents.
The problem with politicians, Gonzalez said as the other four nodded in agreement, is that “they don’t understand that we hired them.”
“I like the way you think,” Mason said. “You’re saying what I’m thinking.”
Independents pride themselves on casting votes based on issues, not party affiliation. They espouse political views that don’t fit neatly into either major party’s platform. They compromise each time they vote. And they consider straight-ticket voters to be blindly faithful and uneducated.
While about half of Republicans and Democrats say they’re excited about the 2016 presidential election, 67 percent of independents are not, according to a poll released this week by the Bliss Institute.
The poll, which asked more than 1,000 Ohioans their opinions on a wide range of political topics, found 27 percent of independents remain undecided, compared to 12 and 20 percent of Democrats and Republicans, respectively. As a group, they lean toward Clinton.
But they’re a wild card in this election, and not just because so many remain undecided. They are three times more likely than Republicans to vote for Libertarian Gary Johnson — the more conservative of the two third-party candidates — and a whopping seven times more likely than Democrats to vote for Jill Stein of the leftist Green Party.
They care more about the economy and the national debt than partisans do. While Republicans get worked up over terrorism and immigration, and Democrats fret over income inequality and health care costs, independents distinguish themselves in their desire to oust corrupt politicians and question how elections are conducted and financed.
And more so than partisans, they are disgusted in American politics; 80 percent voice disgust compared to 56 percent of Democrats and 68 percent of Republicans.
Getting along
On the street, Mason is criticized for the choice he’ll make for Trump on Nov. 8.
“I have a bumper sticker on my truck, and I get hell for it. I get cut off. People pull up beside me and call me cracker. They flip me off,” he said.
At a table beside two undecided independents, who are leaning toward Clinton, and Gonzalez, who thinks Trump is turning America into an international joke, Mason found himself in the company of voters who like him wear no labels.
The parties aren’t the problem with politics, the group articulated. It’s the hyperpartisan versions of what they’ve become that needs to go.
“It wasn’t always like that. Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton ate lunch together,” Mason said of the 1990s, a time when Democrats and Republicans came together to balance budgets and pass legislation that moved the country forward.
“That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” echoed Winston McHargh, a 71-year-old retiree who will begrudgingly vote for Clinton despite the many scandals that weigh her down.
Debate winner
Asked who won the debate, the group gave a resounding victory to Chris Wallace, the Fox News Sunday anchor moderated the third and final showdown between the candidates.
Prodded for another answer, they gave second place to Clinton.
Mason, the ardent Trump supporter, said Clinton’s ease on the debate stage comes from years of honing political skills. That’s not exactly a compliment from a man backing the ultimate outsider candidate.
Al Henderson, 26, of North Canton, said he’ll probably vote for Trump as well but noted Clinton’s responses packed more of punch than Trump’s pithy interjections.
Swing voters
Each in the small group said they are absolutely going to vote — based on careful deliberation and not the D or R beside the top-ticket candidates’ names.
Their decisions come with painstaking deliberation.
Henderson supports marriage equality and abortion rights. But like the other four, he is concerned about ballooning national debt and the size of government.
McHargh, who also prefers the trademark fiscal conservatism of the Republican Party, said Trump hasn’t made his plans clear enough. For McHargh, Wednesday night brought 90 more minutes of vague promises to save Social Security and Medicare, bring back jobs, boost wages and Make America Great Again by making America great again.
Moore also supports deficit reduction and prefers an efficient government to lofty social programs. But she supports Democratic plans for education and health care, even if she has trouble getting behind the candidate.
Like most at the table, she said she would rather be voting for Joe Biden, the current vice president, or John Kasich, Ohio’s popular Republican governor.
Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @ABJDoug .