Trump on the minds of many as they head to Valley polls

Voters showed up in a steady stream early Tuesday morning at polls in the central San Joaquin Valley to cast ballots largely along political party lines, and with President Trump on many of their minds.

“I’m a Democrat and I can’t stand Trump,” Ernie Beltran, 70, of Clovis said outside his polling place on Helm Avenue. “I can’t stand Trump and anyone affiliated with him, and I’m voting against them.”

Trump has made this election a referendum for him, Beltran said. If Republicans lose seats in Congress, “they can blame him,” he said.

Phillip Sanchez, 53, a construction worker and Republican voter, said Trump had little to do with the votes he cast for Republican candidates. He wants Republicans in office because, “They at least have a plan, where the Democrats have no plan.”

At the Clovis Veterans Memorial District polling place, Judith Nino, 77, a retired preschool worker, said she wants more Democrats in office: “I don’t like what’s happening with our president. It’s just unbelievable that somebody like him is in office.”

Pam Pettice, 69, of Clovis, said: “I am for Trump. I am against the far left. I don’t like how they have treated Trump.”

And Pettice said she hopes Republicans can take back California. “I just want California back the way it used to be,” she said.

Trish Jay, 60, of Clovis, said Republicans got her vote because “California is too left-leaning.” California has floated too many bonds, Jay said. “The governor is taxing us too much.”

Voting at the Woodward Park Regional Library in northeast Fresno, Luke Matthews, 39, a full-time student and Marine veteran who served twice in Iraq, said he voted as part of a “red wave,” a nod to Republican voters marking their ballots in light of a Democrat “blue wave.” “I’m not necessarily a Republican,” Matthews said. “But right now, it’s either ‘red’ or ‘blue.’ ”

Al Rogozinksi, 70, also voting at the Woodward Park library, voted to make sure Republicans keep their seats. “I believe in Trump,” he said. “I think he’s good for the economy.”

Rogozinski, a retired service representative at a forklift dealership, said Democrat Jim Costa, in a race with Republican Elizabeth Heng in the 16th Congressional District, should be voted out. “He’s a professional politician and we need someone new in there.” And he said Republican Devin Nunes should keep his seat in the 22nd district in his race against Democrat Andrew Janz. “He represents the Valley and that’s all you can for. I like him.”

Several voters said the Nunes-Janz race, which has had both candidates spending millions, captured their attention.

Marian Hernandez, 39, a voter at the Woodward library, said Janz got her vote to “fight against the corruption of Nunes.”

At American Legion 509 at First Street and Shields Avenue, Neil Simpson, 62, a retired plumber, also said he voted to “get rid of Nunes,” citing the congressman’s role in the investigation of the alleged Russia interference in the 2016 election.

Other issues bringing Fresno voters to the polls included Measure P, which would impose a sales tax to fund parks and recreation; and Proposition 6, which if approved, would repeal a road tax.

Retiree Gerald Young, 69, worked for the city of Fresno and Fresno Unified School District, and remembers a lush Roeding Park and an immaculate Storyland. “Measure P — that’s a big ‘yes’ for me,” he said. But Young drew a line at higher taxes for roads, voting for the repeal of Prop. 6, which he called “the gas tax that was forced on us.”

It’s too early to know if partisan politics will result in a high voter turnout. But the campaign to get out the millennial vote could be bringing young voters to the polls. Grace Meyer, 20, of Fresno, voted with her mother, Kim Meyer, 50, at the Woodward Park library on Tuesday afternoon. “Without all the communication and campaigning, I probably would not have even known that voting was today,” Grace Meyer said.

Brandi Orth, Fresno County’s registrar, said early Tuesday afternoon that she’d been too busy to canvass precincts about voter turnout. But the downtown elections office had a line of people beginning at 7 a.m. when polls opened. This is the first year voters could register at the office on election day and vote, she said.

Only minor glitches had been reported through Tuesday afternoon. A voting machine that failed at the Bethel Christian Center on First Street was replaced by 7:45 a.m., Orth said.

This story was originally published November 6, 2018 at 9:48 AM.