BY JACKSON CHEN | As Manhattanites lined up at schools, churches, and community centers to show support for their favorite presidential candidate, comments from voters demonstrated why former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in for a good day, but also how Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is able to keep up the fiery enthusiasm his campaign has enjoyed all year.
Judging from those primary voters willing to offer their views to Manhattan Express, it’s also not surprising that the borough’s turnout included more than 265,000 Democrats, but fewer than 25,000 Republicans.
With “I Voted” stickers proudly emblazoning their chests, at least some voters were happy to share their insights about the most contentious and spirited New York primary elections in memory.
“I like everything that she stands for,” said Harriet McDonald, the executive vice president of the Doe Fund, of her vote for Clinton. “She’s certainly the most qualified unquestionably. I don’t think anyone else in fact is qualified.”
McDonald, an Upper East Sider who jointly runs the nonprofit that provides housing and transitional employment to homeless New Yorkers with her husband George, said the other Democratic candidate, Bernie Sanders, was simply a “bumper sticker candidate” who offers no depth to his grand ideas of busting up big banks and delivering affordable and universal healthcare and education.
But Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, has unquestionably inspired other voters with his uncompromising and urgent vision, which stands in marked contrast to Clinton’s more careful policy focus.
“I immediately felt a connection with his long record,” said Teresa Brooks, an Upper East Sider for more than 20 years, “and the fact that he has been taking stands on behalf of social justice and the economically deprived.”
Brooks said she agreed with Sanders’ noninterventionist style in international affairs but was confident he would step to the plate to protect America’s national security.
If it comes down to Clinton versus billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump in the general election, Brooks said her vote would most likely go to the Democrat. But should Clinton defeat Sanders for the nomination, her preferred scenario would be a four-way race, giving “young, independently-minded” Democrats the chance to stick with Sanders, while offering Republicans unhappy with the choice of Trump an alternative as well.
For other Sanders voters, the controversies that have pockmarked Clinton’s long record are what turned them away from the frontrunner.
“I can’t stand the Clintons, they’re corrupt,” said Diane S., who cast her vote for Sanders. “In my case, it’s more a vote against the Clintons.”
Diane, a 40-year resident of the Upper East Side, said Clinton’s conduct following the 2012 attack on the US military compound in Benghazi, Libya, which left four Americans dead, and her use of a private email server while secretary of state were telling signs of her character.
“They’re totally corrupt,” Diane added, “She’s got too much money. Where that money comes from is very suspect.”
The Clinton naysayer added that if Sanders didn’t receive the Democratic nomination, her vote would go to Republican hopeful Trump because “he tells it like it is.”
But at polling sites on both the Upper East and Upper West Sides, a clear majority of voters said they support Clinton, citing her track record and qualifications, but also her ability to go up against Trump, who was the overwhelming Republican winner in New York.
“I think it’d be great to have a woman president,” said Susan, a Upper East Side resident for 50 years. “But that’s not why I’m voting for her, not at all. I think she’s got the most experience and she’s very capable.”
Susan said that while her vote for Clinton was an easy choice, she valued the role Sanders and his campaign have played in nudging her more to the left. When asked about the possibility of Sanders winning the nomination, Susan said that she would follow the party line.
“I started out as a Rockefeller Republican when I was young, and I detest what most of the Republican Party is doing now,” said Susan. “So I would never vote for them.”
Republican voters, meanwhile, were hard to find in Manhattan, especially any supporting Trump or Ted Cruz, the Texas senator. Or perhaps they just felt cowed stating their preferences in such a Democratic part of the state.
The one Republican willing to be vocal in response to Manhattan Express, an Upper West Sider, shared her thoughts on why John Kasich, the governor of Ohio, won her support.
“He’s the only sensible adult in the mix,” said Elizabeth Kelly, a 25-year resident of the neighborhood. “He’s the only one that reaches across both Republican and Democrat sides to build consensus.”
Kelly said she felt both Sanders and Trump were fanning the flames of hate and division, while Clinton’s handling of the Benghazi incident turned her off to the other Democrat in the race.
Kasich’s undeniable underdog status did not deter Kelly, and results showed that was the case with many other GOP Manhattanites.
“My vote is probably a throwaway vote, but… at this point it’s almost 50 times more valuable because there’s so few of us in New York City,” Kelly said, alluding to the fact that every county in the state gets the same number of delegates to the national convention in Cleveland. “So every vote matters.”
