Russian-speaking voters in the United States: who do they intend to vote for in 2020 and why

Michael Jakubowicz is a Republican congressman from the New Hampshire State Legislature. Michael or Misha is a native of Belarus. This is stated in the video "Voices of America".

Photo: Shutterstock

“I came with my parents in 1989, went to study, work, and then got married. I began to slowly get involved in politics,” says Michael.

After the September 11 attacks, it seemed to Michael that a gradual slide towards authoritarianism had begun in the United States, as the authorities, who were trying to prevent future attacks, began to pass laws that infringed on human rights.

“The law was adopted very hastily, the laws were adopted thoughtlessly. It began to seem that we were close to totalitarianism, to power that has no limits,” says Michael.

It all began to remind him of the Soviet Union, from which his family had left, and it was then that Michael became imbued with libertarianism - a political philosophy that supports freedom in all its manifestations. And that's why he came to live in New Hampshire.

“The freedom that exists in New Hampshire is almost gone in the eastern United States. Second Amendment to the Constitution, carrying weapons, purchasing, no income tax, you can record on video any state bureaucrat, any state employee without any claims from the authorities...” Michael says about the advantages of the region.

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The ideas of the American Democrats scare Michael, he says that they resemble a socialist system, he will vote in November 2020 for the current US President Donald Trump.

“We, coming from the former Soviet Union, are very sensitive to all manifestations of socialism, communism and totalitarianism,” says Michael.

But the teacher of English for foreign students in the United States, Julia Garvanovich, the programs of some American democrats are not scared. In her opinion, state intervention in such areas as education and medicine today is simply necessary.

“Bernie Sanders, for example, is trying to fight for adequate college education in the US. Many people finish their education with huge loans - $100 thousand or more,” says Yulia.

Another problem that, according to Yulia, requires immediate intervention from the authorities is the issue of free circulation of firearms in the United States.

“I am very concerned about the situation in the United States regarding weapons,” shares Yulia.

In the presidential election in late 2020, Julia will vote for the Democrat, for anyone, but not for Trump, she says.

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“It was a difficult 4 years - for me, for my colleagues, for students, immigrants and refugees,” says Yulia.

Eugene Frenkel is from Kiev, but lives in Los Angeles. In his opinion, the electoral tendencies of Russian-speaking Americans have recently changed somewhat.

“The Russian-speaking community now is not as monolithic as the old immigration,” says Evgeniy.

He will most likely vote for Donald Trump, despite some features of his presidency.

“There is a difference between what he says and what he does. He says a lot and different things. Just look at what has happened in these 4 years and I love it. I like his foreign policy, I like that he didn't start any wars, as he promised. I like that although he didn’t resolve the issue with Iran, he calmed it down,” says Evgeniy.

Eric Shiryaev, a professor of political science at George Mason University in Washington, says that in addition to the memory of the Soviet past, local socio-demographic factors influence the electoral preferences of Russian speakers in the United States, among which age and education are of primary importance.

“The process of identification comes down to the fact that you behave the same way as the people around you behave. If a young man was born and raised in the USA, is at university, and around him 80% vote for Democrats, then most likely he will vote for Democrats,” says Eric.

At the same time, some immigrants who left their homeland not for political reasons and successfully assimilated in the United States often take a conservative position.

Although the electoral tendencies of Russian-speaking immigrants in the United States have been changing lately, experts predict that most immigrants from the USSR are not yet ready to change their political passions, and in November 2020 it will continue to support the Republicans.

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