Voters throughout Tennessee went to polls Tuesday as a part of several primaries throughout the country to pick presidential candidates in the Democratic and Republican parties, known as “Super Tuesday.”
In northwest Tennessee, Henry County along the state border voted for President Donald Trump with more than 70 percent of the vote total in the 2016 general election, and many Republican voters in the county came out to vote for Trump in the primary despiteno apparent primary challenger to Trump.
“He’s done a pretty good job. People should leave him alone and let him do his job,” said Bobby Sadler of Puryear. “I will always vote for him.”
Sadler said he thinks Trump has done well at boosting the economy the past four years, yet he believes west Tennessee still struggles to create well-paying jobs, leaving only part-time jobs with poor benefits.
“Most of them are temporary or part-time jobs working into a full-time job,” Sadler said. “It’s our local, state and county officials are the ones that can do that.”
Democratic voters are choosing between several candidates vying for the party’s nomination. Kellyanne Bargeman, also of Puryear, said she voted for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders because of his support of a single-payer healthcare system through expanding Medicare.
Kellyanne said her personal experiences with healthcare influenced her vote. She said she went to the hospital recently and couldn’t afford the subsequent bills.
“A couple of weeks ago, I was having severe chest pains and waited for hours before going to the hospital. Had it been something serious, I probably would have died,” she said. “The reason why is that I don’t have insurance. And there’s no reason why anyone in this country should be dying at home and not seeking help.”
James Williams of Paris voted former U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden over Sanders. He said he supports Sanders’ progressive policies, but doesn’t think Sanders will overcome opposition to his policies in the national Democratic party.
“The DNC, I don’t think his thing is going to fly,” Williams said. “Especially in [northwest Tennessee], anything about raising taxes, I don’t care if it’s for healthcare, education, anything -- they’re against it.”
Williams said he’s willing to vote for whoever the eventual Democratic nominee is, who opposes Trump.
