November 3rd, 2020 proved to be the most hotly contested presidential race in U.S. history. While polling centers across the nation were counting ballots and news media outlets were doing their best avoid poor projections, many locals attended watch parties anxiously awaiting county, state, and national results.
At the Fallon Theater, popcorn, sodas, and cheers were shared while the Presidential Election dominated the big screen. At the same time, local candidates along with several members of the community gathered at the County Clerk’s Office as ballots were officially tallied. County Commissioner candidate, Kelli Kelley, saw a great turn out for the election result party she hosted at the American Legion Hall. Unfortunately, commission candidate, Greg Koenig and school board candidate Kathryn Whitaker were quarantined due to COVID exposures.
With everyone anxious to see how the elections would unfold, community members remained polite and respectful throughout the evening. The Theater crowd was a mix of both Democrats at Republicans, however the overall feel leaned to the right with Trump supporters revved up and raring to go. An informal poll of those in attendance revealed an even split among those who voted early and those who voted on Election Day. None of those surveyed stated that they had mailed in their votes.
According the County Election Summary Report (unofficial as of November 3rd), about 26.5% or 5,158 of the votes cast were mailed in. The County has one week to tally any remaining mail in ballots. About 40% (6,6293) of voters hit the polls early and 11.22% of voters waited until Election Day. In total, Churchill County had an outstanding turnout with early 77.7% of all registered voters casting ballots this year.
Republican Larry Johnson, along with his wife, daughter and son-in-law, attended the Fallon Theater watch party as undeniable President Trump supporters. “I am a conservative Trump supporter,” stated Johnson, “To me, it’s common sense versus reality.” Even though Biden was ahead in electoral votes throughout the evening, the Johnson’s were undaunted and remained confident that Trump would see victory. “When it’s all said and done,” said Johnson, “I think it will be a sweep, although we probably won’t know for a couple days.”
Timi Smart, also a Trump supporter, had a lot to say about the evening. “I felt safe in our community coming here,” she said. “We have a community where people respect each other and take care of each other.” As a clinical social worker, she noted how difficult 2020 has been on everyone, and not just because of COVID. “Although, you would think that we’d come together in a pandemic, we are more divided as a country than ever.” Smart also commented on the negative media and the nation’s current political attitudes. “I used to love supporting my candidate out loud, but now it’s very scary,” said Smart, “Maybe after seeing how bad things have gotten as a country, it will get better.”
Jerry Sloss, a Joe Biden supporter, expressed his concerns about social security, Medicare, and Medicaid if Trump is reelected. “I voted for Biden,” Sloss stated, “And I think it’s frightening that people are more interested in their 401K and retirement gains than protecting these programs. Both the Republicans and Democrats could save them if they wanted to.” Sloss went on to state, “People have been paying into Social Security for decades and now we don’t even know if it’s going to be here in a few years. We will be in big trouble if it goes away.”
For the article with local election results, click here.
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