How Russian-speaking Americans voted in the US midterm elections

Russian-speaking Americans took an active part in the midterm elections, which took place last Tuesday, November 6, in the United States. According to a survey of compatriots living in different states of the country, most often when voting for a particular candidate for Congress, Senate or local authorities, they were guided by “common sense” and knew exactly what results they would like to see from the elections and the future work of politicians .

Photo: @aribaby19

The fate of the country is being decided

Julia, who lives in the south of the state of California, considers these elections to be the most important.

“If Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, they can initiate impeachment proceedings against our president and achieve the resignation of US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Of course, there is hope that the Senate will remain in the hands of the Republicans, but if the liberal Democrats win, then all the positive results of our president’s work for two years will be destroyed, and this will drag the country down. The current elections decide the fate of America and its history for many years to come,” she emphasized on election day.

Yulia especially noted that republican views better meet her needs in several areas of life. “The issue of border security is important to me, since I live in the south, where the caravan is now moving (thousands of foot migrants from Central American countries - editor’s note), Judeo-Christian values ​​are important, I am against abortion, for lower taxes, for the interests of America in relation to other countries and so on. And that’s why I wholeheartedly support our president, Donald Trump,” she said.

Irina, who also lives in California, says that she considered each candidate for a particular post separately, regardless of party affiliation. “We have long ballots in California and a lot of proposed new laws,” she explained. “I read the bills, decided which ones I support and which ones I don’t.” I also studied the candidates’ platforms, what they want, and voted for those with whom I agree more.”

At the same time, Irina believes that only elections can “make our lives better.” “And sometimes people complain: the government is wrong or they don’t like the laws. But they themselves elected this government and voted for the laws. That’s why I’m surprised by people who don’t vote,” she added.

Against Russophobia, globalism and the influx of refugees

Vyacheslav from Seattle (Washington State) admitted that he always voted for Democrats before. “But after they lost to Donald Trump, instead of admitting defeat and analyzing their mistakes (and the main mistake is that their worldview has moved too far from the worldview of the average American), in their desire to overthrow the current president, through the media , Democrats launched a witch hunt. Russophobia has gone like this, the likes of which the world has never seen. And it caused enormous harm to both Russia and America,” says Vyacheslav.

“And this is only to throw off Trump, who fairly won against the Democrats. You need to be able to lose!” he said. Vyacheslav also considers the “multicultural and globalist ideas of democrats unnecessary.”

Natalia, who lives in the same city, notices that the current US presidential administration is fulfilling almost all its election promises, despite their unpopularity, and therefore supports the Republicans. “Hillary Clinton and other Democrats definitely would not have stopped the (migrant) caravans!” she believes, noting that Trump’s predecessor, US President Barack Obama, allowed “tens of thousands of refugees from Africa to enter the country without asking anyone.”

Elena from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) also supported the Republicans, explaining that “moral values ​​are important” to her, including the issue of “imposing ideas” of a neutral gender and promoting homosexuality in school, bypassing the family. “The economy is stable now, and that suits me, taxes have been reduced,” she continued. “And the Democrats just want to raise taxes and distribute them through social programs to people who often don’t want to work and have been sitting on benefits for entire generations.”

Must fight sexism and racism

Another Elena, a university teacher in Ohio, said that she voted for the Democrats - like many of her American colleagues, as well as students. “Sexism, Nazism and racism are the plague of the 21st century, they not only cannot be supported, they must be fought,” she said.

“Sexism in the United States is now everywhere - on average across the country, for every dollar a man earns, women are paid only 80 cents,” Elena noted. “Career opportunities are also strikingly different: in my field (science and higher education), three quarters of the entire professorial staff are men.”

She is also outraged by information about mass sexual harassment cases.

“I personally had to literally save subordinates from the harassment of a top manager, who demanded that an employee who refused to have intimacy with him be fired.
In general, I am a centrist, and I would vote for the Republicans, since there are adequate politicians there, but not in a situation where my vote would add support to Trump. We are categorically against this disgrace for our country,” the teacher noted.

Be guided by common sense

Maria, who lives in South Carolina, also cast her vote in favor of the Democrats. “I use common sense: the Democrats are much more reasonable and progressive than the crazy right-wing Republicans operating in our particular southern state. For me, the issues of improving the infrastructure of the area where we live, the approach to the educational system, and the increasing incidence of mass shootings, which affects the safety of ordinary residents, are important,” said the young woman.

Alexey from New Jersey, who usually supports Democrats in presidential elections, was more focused on specific bills and plans of local government candidates. “I tried to calculate what impact their policies would have on the economic well-being of families in our district, looked at their positions on international issues, so I was less concerned about their party affiliation and more about the potential impact on society, the society where I live and where my family lives,” Alexey explained.

Alla from Illinois voted for the Democratic candidate for governor: “The Democrats are closer to me on social and economic issues, in relation to weapons, and to the topic of security.” However, in her opinion, when voting for one or another candidate for positions in regional and municipal authorities, a voter often chooses a “pig in a poke”: “Sometimes it is completely unclear which governor will work better. It doesn't matter to me, in general, whether he is a Democrat, a Republican, a Green, an Independent, or anything else. For example, it is generally very difficult for the current Republican governor to push through any decisions, since the local Senate consists of Democrats, so I cast my vote for the Democratic governor so that at least they would finally decide something.”

So as not covered the historic rage

Olga from California not only always votes in elections, but also forces her American husband, who “shirks voting,” to vote. “I still can’t forgive that in 2016 he didn’t vote in the primaries,” she recalls, “maybe then Bernie Sanders (Hillary Clinton’s rival from the Democratic Party - editor’s note) would have won.” When I think about this, I am overcome with historical rage: this is how Chekhov’s intelligentsia sat in their dachas and reflected while the Bolsheviks, who had no doubts about anything, took power.”

“In general, I chose the Democrats because I want universal health insurance and free education at least at the community college stage (two-year higher education - editor's note). Well, Trump’s figure, attitude towards gun ownership, abortion - I’m clearly not on the same page with the Republicans,” Olga explained.

Julia from New York, although she will vote Republican, noted: “In general, I have always been a centrist Democrat. But I am completely unsettled by the #metoo movement (a loud campaign against the sexual harassment of men towards women - editor's note), which has turned into a witch hunt; I am killed by the absolute absurdity of adding the letter Q to the abbreviation LGBT (we are talking about people who find it difficult to choose a sexual preference - editor's note); It’s what’s being pushed into our children under the auspices of tolerance that’s killing us.”

“And everything else, frankly, is so old and will not change in either direction that we are already tired of discussing it - gun control, and the right to abortion, and so on. Both parties have gone into such a free flight to the right and to the left that declaring oneself a Democrat or a Republican is already akin to recognizing oneself as an extremist in either party,” says Yulia.

But Yuri from New York for the first time decided not to vote at all for ideological reasons. “I am completely disappointed in American “indirect” elections. The fish rots from the head, as the last US presidential elections (and not only the last ones) proved to me - the entire structure of power, including the electoral system, is outdated, and since I do not agree with the structure, I no longer take part in the selection of candidates not at any level of government,” he explained.

Recall by preliminary midterm election results The Democratic Party won a majority in the House of Representatives, the first time since 2011, while the Republicans retained a majority in the Senate.

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