Republicans in the North Country?

What upstate residents are doing to show support for their candidates.

Story and photos by Jennifer Dunkerley

With the nation getting ready for the upcoming election, there is much to consider with the candidates running for the presidential nomination. This past year has shown that the people of this country will witness a change in the future. The candidates are eager and willing to do what they can for this country and to make it better for all.

The Democratic Party itself has shown change in that this is the first time in history that an African American man and a former First Lady have been seriously considered for becoming a presidential candidate.

Barack Obama has been a senator for four years and has spent more than $100 million on his presidential campaign throughout the past year and a half. He has been associated with helping local towns in Chicago and around the country and has shown true concern for the people of this nation. Supporters of Obama believe that he may very well become the first mixed race president of this country.

There have been many supporters of the Barack Obama campaign, which have included many in the North Country. College students from Plattsburgh State have been seen around town holding up signs and banners that say “Barack ‘08”. The students call this type of support a “visibility”, because it visually shows their support for their candidate out in the open. Kyle Woods is a junior at Plattsburgh State and is a strong supporter of Obama and has been a member of his campaign for several months. “I actually was for Hillary in the begining but the more debates I watched and the more I watched him speak, the more I realized he is the best candidate to unite a highly divided country.”

Woods is making his support for Obama visible to encourage people to join the campaign. “He’s liked by both parties, so alot will get done, and most importantly, he doesnt act like a typical politican. Unlike the other canidates I feel like I can trust what he says.”

On the corner of Centre Boulevard and Route 3 in Plattsburgh, NY, is where Woods and other supporters of Obama have been seen. They stand in the frigid North Country weather to show their support for their candidate.  With cars and trucks buzzing by during rush hour, you can hear the continuous beep of enthusiastic drivers who also support Woods and his friends and Obama. “It was hard to find a corner at first because businesses didn’t want to be associated with politics, but once we got there, we didnt have any problems, in fact we even got a state trooper to honk,” says Woods. He also states that there have been no problems with local police.

"Unlike the other canidates I feel like I can trust what he says."

People all over the North Country have shown their support for Obama. Woods, originally from South Glens Falls, is one of many who have traveled to be able to support this cause. Other supporters in the campaign are from Vermont, Saranac, Plattsburgh and other various places around New York state.

Tom Brown, 59, is a retired air traffic controller from Vermont. And says he has been associated with many programs that support Obama from day one. He now devotes his time to informing people about what he so willingly supports. Brown has traveled all over the North Country and to New Hampshire as well. Recently completing a visibility in Vermont, Brown says he will continue to call the undecided states and raise awareness for Obama. It is important to Brown that he reaches the people of the North Country to raise awareness of this election and how important it is.“ I started doing this just to get his name out there. I wanted him to have some credibility. Now I want people to know what he stands for and what he can do for this country,” says Brown.

Brown says that Obama’s thoughts on foreign policy is superior to the rest of the candidates because he has experience with helping people who are in need. “He’s someone who has gone in there and got dirt under his fingernails,” said Brown. He believes that Obama has the right mindset to get us back on track. “It’s about character and fundementally a new way of governing. This is something that this country needs.”

To people like Woods and Brown, this election is something that will change our lives in the future to come. They have dedicated their time and energy to inform the North Country of this election’s importance and how it will help the country for the better.

However, Obama is not the only one in the Democratic spotlight. This country truly does have change in its future if Hillary Clinton is considered as a presidential candidate. She is not only part of the change for this country’s future, but will enforce change as well. The former First Lady has been in the public eye for quite sometime. She was elected as a New York State senator in 2000 and has continued to work hard for the nation since then. Many people have been backing Hillary because they know her work and know what she can do for the country.

Lianne Turner, 21, is interning for the Hillary Clinton Campaign offices in New York City. Turner is a strong supporter of Clinton because she believes the country needs a woman president. Turner says that Clinton will be someone who can get this country back on its feet through universal health care and her views to straighten the nation’s economy. “I think she is someone who has stayed true to her word. I believe that she is someone who says she will get it done, and do it to her full potential,” said Turner.

“I think that she has the knowledge to end this war that shouldn’t have occurred in the first place.”

Turner also comes from a military family and has seen her brother and her stepfather shipped oversees to fight in the war. Turner’s stepfather has been oversees dozens of times and is currently recovering from injuries inflicted from a suicide bombing in Iraq. He has received a purple heart and is said to be returning to Iraq in a few months. “I think that she has the knowledge to end this war that shouldn’t have occurred in the first place,” says Turner.

More and more Democratic support is being shown all over northern New York and Vermont, but not too many republican support has been seen. So where are the Republicans in the North Country? When asking Judith Layhee, a Republican Commissioner for the Board of Elections, she told me that it is too early before the election. She states that many banners and signs, known as visibilities, will be out in the North Country to show support of the Republican Party. Layhee believes that more Democratic support is being shown because Obama and Clinton are so close in the running. “ Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton are in the fight for their lives,” says Layhee. Closer to the time of the election, Layhee says that there will be more signs out there as well as office openings that will concentrate on the support of the Republican candidates.

No matter who the future holds as our fourty-fourth president of this country, we can still come to the realization that we are in for a major change. With support from both sides, the North Country is forced to look upon itself to come to the important decision for itself and the rest of the country. As long as there are people in the North Country who want to be able to show their support for their candidates, whether they be Republican or Democrat, there will continue to be a bond which essentially ties this country together.

Which candidate do you support?