Kentuckians will hit the polls to elect the state’s next governor Tuesday. And in a few weeks, some families will discuss the results or straight-out avoid the topic altogether over Thanksgiving dinner. A Pew Research Center survey conducted this spring found 85% of adults in the U.S. said the nature of political debate in this country has become more negative. Reporters Sydni Anderson and Dalton York spoke to west Kentucky residents on a recent weekday to get their take on the region’s political dialogue.
It’s a chilly day in October standing in front of a Kroger in Murray, hoping to catch some shoppers on their way in and out of the grocery. Hubert Wright is a registered Republican, but he said he’s been a part of other parties in the past.
“Republicans and Democrats can’t work together. Never have, never will from what I see. They’ve got to get their act together in order to get something done up there," Wright said. "They’re not doing anything but sitting up there and drawing our money. That’s the way I feel. Everybody’s got their opinions. I’ll probably be in trouble for saying that but I’ll say it anyway.”
Brian York just moved to Murray last month and said he’s voting on Election Day.
"I’m a transplanted Illinoisan coming here to Kentucky and a registered Democrat, so we’ll see how this goes," York said. “In this region, I see it 50/50 for both negative ads. A lot of negative ads so far in this state so far that I’ve seen recently anyway, at least on TV. I’m not about negative ads, I’d rather see results."
York said he’s usually comfortable talking politics, but he’s hesitant as a Democrat in Kentucky because of the traditionally conservative backdrop of the state.
"I don’t know that I would because I think there’s so much toxic stuff going on in this country," York said. "And I currently believe that a lot of that’s happening from the Republican side. I think they like to divide the country.”
Alec Wadley is a registered Republican. We found him on-campus at Murray State. He said politics has become 'a huge slander campaign', but believes there’s still room for dialogue. A Pew Research Survey last year found majorities of Republicans and Democrats said talking politics with people whose views differ does not lead to more common ground. Wadley said he disagrees.
“I think it’s always possible for people to work together and to find a common ground. It’s more a person than their views for working together," Wadley said. "Well, I usually gauge the room first to make sure it’s the right place to start talking about [politics]. And I like to listen to see what other people have to say and then I provide my own beliefs and then we just discuss them and argue our beliefs and just defend what we believe in.”
However, this isn’t the case for Tristan Cline's family Thanksgiving.
“It was between my uncle and my cousin, who was fighting for Bernie and my uncle who was going for Trump," said Cline, who's from Marshall County. "So, they were arguing pretty heavily and it ended up just going downhill from there. A yell/scream fight and one of them had to leave.”
David Agati is a registered Republican. He said he talks politics with his family, but they’ve learned how to respectfully disagree. They avoid the topics they don’t agree on.
“I really feel that everybody has their choices. If your choice is Republican or Democrat, you have to respect that," Agati said.
