A Final Dispatch From America’s Bellwether
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For months now, we've been traveling around the country, talking to people, trying to be sure that when today came, whatever happened wouldn't feel like a surprise.

And today, as people go to the polls to cast a vote for Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, or someone else, we wanted to go back to the place where we started.

When we kicked off our coverage of the presidential election, almost exactly a year ago. The only Bellwether County in America that corresponds to how people vote. Yes, it is. I know y'all have heard about this, right? Oh, yes. Clallam County, in the northwest corner of Washington State. Because it's the only Bellwether County left in America. Oh, yes! Yeah, you all heard about it. I like when people take pride in it. As the people of Clallam are proud to tell you, it's the last true Bellwether County in America.

It's correctly picked the president every year since 1980. And when we were first here, what we found really did match the mood of the country at the time. Democrats were despondent about their choice in Joe Biden. Some Republicans were still hoping that they might have another option besides Donald Trump. And overall, the feeling was just bad, with overwhelming frustration with the candidate options and both political parties. Today, we return to Clallam,

A county with one of the most legitimate claims to being a place where how people feel might actually be how the country votes. From the New York Times on Election Day, I'm Ested Herndon. This is The Run-Up. One of the things we wanted to do in Clallam County when we were there late last week

Let's catch up with some of the people we first met there a year ago. Can you introduce yourself? Yeah, I am Kate Bradshaw. How long have you been in Clallam? I've been in Clallam 12 or 13 years. When I talked to Kate last year, she and her family had liked Joe Biden, but were beginning to worry that he was too old to serve a second term.

You are a Democrat, if I remember. And I remember last time you talking about how you liked what Biden was doing. You thought Biden was a good president. But you did, I remember, say you saw him on TV and he was a little older than you expected. Yeah. Tell me what it was like to watch that first debate, if you watched it. And then let me know kind of what you thought about the way the Biden candidacy became the Harris candidacy. I couldn't watch it. Mm-hmm.

I couldn't watch it. And I was somewhere, I was traveling and my husband was sending me updates and he was like,

Okay, things are off to a rocky start. And then he was just like, oh, no, like in the text messages. And then it was like, things are not good. This is really bad. Like this is going downhill. And that's just what I was getting from him. And I think even like pretty quickly after we talked with you guys, we started being like, oh, no, like we kind of regret what we were saying. Like our opinion of what was going on with Biden went downhill like really quickly after that. What changed?

I think it was sort of the age thing that really started to become a main factor for us. And also just like, yeah, it just seemed like his popularity was really, really falling. And we were just really worried that, oh, this is like an opening. And I was really wishing that he would have done what he said he was going to do, which is set somebody else up, be that interim president, and then get somebody else in there. And he didn't do it. And

I was disappointed in that. And then as soon as there became another option, it was just so relieving. So relieving. What did you know? Obviously, Harris has had like three months to kind of put this together. What have you learned about her? Did you know a lot about her going into it? And what have you felt like you've learned? No, I didn't know a lot about her going into it. But I was also fine with that. I feel like that's vice presidency. Like what vice president did I know a lot about? And so, no, I was okay with her. What I was really worried about was...

I thought it was too soon. Like, I didn't think it was too late. I thought it was too soon that she announced, I wish that it happened at the beginning of October. As soon as she announced, I thought, everyone's excited now. She's a woman. They're going to start tearing her apart. And the more time they have...

the more this excitement is going to go down. So you were worried that even the three months was too long. I thought it was too long. Just like the way things are now, like the rapid way that people will glom onto something or change their mind or whatever it is. I was like, I thought it was too soon. And I guess I'm wondering, like, how has that panned out? I think it's, we're seeing, and this is something that's like said a lot. It's kind of like a trite thing to say, but it's like this sort of imperfect woman is being held against like,

a really egregious man, and they're in a dead heat. And I just sort of felt like that was inevitable. You know, this reminds me of obviously 2016 because of, you know, the discussions around Clinton and gender at that time, and Trump running against a woman. What do you think has changed since 2016? And what hasn't? Like, are we more ready?

I don't think so. I think like in the heart of America, like the feelings towards women are the same. I think the difference is that like women are more apt to be more vocal now. But I think, I think that's the difference. I think the feeling is the same.

And she's kind of shying away from it too, right? Like she's not saying like, I will be the first woman president and all this stuff. So there is, it's almost like, can we sneak it in without anybody noticing that she's a woman? Like, can we kind of just air without like, do you want her to talk about it more? I want her to win. So she's got to do what she's got to do. Yeah. You know? Yeah. And I feel like that's kind of the life of a woman. Yeah.

And at every level. So even at the presidential level. What excites you the most about the prospect of next week and what worries you the most? I would be so excited to see a woman president, to show my daughter a woman president, to go through that. I'm really nervous that if Harris does win, that it's not going to be a free and easy election. And I think they've made that clear. Yeah. So I'm excited.

I'm very worried about that. Yeah. Would you care if Clallam loses its streak? Yeah, I would. I'm proud of us for choosing the president every year, but also it depends on what it means to lose. You'll say you'll take the streak being lost and that means Donald Trump isn't president. But in your best world, you'll give up. In my best world, we give up. So Kate represents the journey of many loyal Democrats over the past year.

From nervous about Biden's candidacy to nervous about their own enthusiasm for Harris. And I remembered having talked to a loyal Trump supporter the last time we were here. And I wondered where his head was at now. My name is Rick Parr. Rick Parr is 65 and told us he's lived in Clallam County his whole life. When we first met him, he said he'd voted for Obama twice. But since then... You like the color red? Because that's going to be it.

He's been firmly in the Trump camp. I'm going to vote for Trump, not because of Trump, but his policies. I've seen this man over the years and it's like, you know, but his policies, they worked, they helped. Since we last talked to him, Rick, who'd owned an auto mechanic business, has retired. My retirement, it's not a lot because I split it up between two different companies.

One was I was my own owner, so didn't do a lot of investing in myself. Mostly, you know, went back into the business. And I have a house in Port Angeles, and property taxes keep going up on it. And it's like, man, this has got to stop because it's going to get to the point where no one's going to be able to afford a house. And so I've been paying attention to what's going on, been watching, you know, what do they plan on doing with the taxes and stuff. And they just...

I don't think we're getting our money's worth. That's my biggest problem. What do you mean? Well, it seems like we're supporting wars that aren't going to have any effect on us. And it's like we're supporting both sides, which is crazy. We give money to them to take care of themselves, and they use that money to attack somebody else. And we give them money to attack back. And it's just a constant...

We're not gaining anything. So last year to now, you know, you've been focusing more on the conflicts that are happening abroad, the money that's being spent there. Is there anything else? What would you say your top issue is in this race? All the lies.

Something's going on. Are they creating their own oligarchy? Are we becoming socialists? Are we becoming like Russia where we're just going to say, this is your president from now on. There's no voting or anything like that. It doesn't matter if you vote. This is your president. It seems like there's been a collapse of trust in politics over the last how long? Four years. Okay. Okay.

Do you see Trump as someone who would restore that trust? Do you see Trump as someone who brings people together? That's what he's saying he wants to do. I mean, he did it before. We felt safe and secure. He's not done anything that nobody else has done before. But he was good for the country. And what we aren't seeing is the people that want to vote for Trump.

bashing the people that aren't. I mean, it's some of the stuff that they say is just...

disgusting. I do have to say, like, it's not like Trump talks very nice about Democrats or Democratic supporters. He talks about, he says that they're the enemy within. He says things about the other side that would also be divisive at the minimum. Is there any responsibility that's on him to also improve his tone? I think he's just giving back what he's getting. He's, you know, it's tit for tat. I'm saying, why do you blame Democrats? But he has no blame himself.

He's just one person in control of one government. But when you got, you know, the media is huge. There's no defense at all. Even when he was president, they didn't give him any defense. Even when he was doing a good job, they didn't give him any defense. It was crazy.

Last question is like, obviously with a lot of Trump supporters four years ago, there was a lot of concern about trust in the election and trust in the results. If we're using you for a proxy of a lot of Trump supporters right now, how do you feel about your level of faith in the results? And we'll start there. The 2020 results...

It was weird. I mean, there was things that happened, the stopping of the voting and then the sudden burst at the end. And it's like, it was all fishy. But you can only do so much investigating. And so everybody just kind of, I think, kind of backed off and let it happen and figured they would shoot themselves in the foot and it'd all be over with. I felt sorry for Biden. I feel that

Elder abuse. I mean, they were just pushing him out there and saying, say this, say that, say this, say that. And then when they insert somebody at the end and say, this is who you're voting for, that's borderline communism. You know, this is who you're going to vote for. You don't have a choice. It's sad. I don't know how she doesn't feel used because she's, they're using her as a person of color and a female. There's a lot more

Colored females out there, they're way better qualified than her. I guess that's not what I'm asking, though. I'm saying if she were to get more votes than Donald Trump, would you believe that result? It would be tough. It would be deep down inside. It would be tough. You just don't believe that world could exist? Well, it's...

It's getting farther and farther away from believability. It's too easy to manipulate. It's too easy to control. I mean, it's scary. That's why we should go back to a paper vote in a box. Rick is basically confirming Kate's fears that for some of Trump's supporters, only a Trump victory will be believed. But in this largely white and working class community, one group of voters feels especially relevant this year. The disenchanted conservatives who don't like Trump.

and who may have been turned off by things like January 6th, an election conspiracy. And I remembered one person in Clallam who definitely fit in that category. Yeah, my name is Matthew Robertson. I lived in Clallam County for eight years. I currently work as a deputy prosecutor here. These days, Matt is running for state representative as a Republican.

Now, I remember last time you were one of the Republicans who were kind of feeling a disappointment, maybe, that the party was set to re-nominate Donald Trump. When you look back at the last year, what did you think about the Republican primary and how that transpired? You know, as far as primaries go, at least we had one.

You know, it was competitive. The candidate I was supporting, Nikki Haley, didn't go the distance, didn't get the votes. And that's the way it is in elections. What is it? You know, Nikki Haley didn't obviously get the votes in this primary. That's kind of been a consistent theme for that lane of the party over the last couple of years, thinking about the Jeb Bushes, the Marco Rubio's.

As someone who considers themselves, I don't know if you would say more moderate, but at least a more traditional lane of the Republican Party. Traditionally conservative lane of the Republican Party rather than MAGA movement. Like, what do you think about the state of that group of Republicans? Yeah, I mean, at some point, that group's going to start asking the question of why are we even here?

Especially if Trump's not successful and we don't do well in the state houses and we don't do well nationally. There are people across the country who I've been in touch with, you know, their goal is to how can we take the party back type of conversations. But I think to be successful at that, it's going to depend on what the general election outcome is, right? Because everybody loves a winner. I'm curious about the mood, your mood over the last year. Like, do you think he's in a good position to win?

I still think it's former President Trump's race to lose. But, you know, the mood, it's been like a circus. And it's been, you know, it's been generally stressful, you know, because so many things can happen. I think, you know, no matter who wins, you know, will there be violence the day after the election day? I don't know. I expect protest disruptions one way or the other. I expect claims of fraud from the side that doesn't win.

You know, we know what happened in 2020. We saw objections being lodged in 2016 even and talks about Russian collusion. So, I mean, either side, the side that doesn't win, there is going to be pushback. And both sides have pivoted their campaigns to the fact of we need to do this to save the country. If the other side wins, the country is damned.

And so the emotional response that provides, it's a high stakes election. Yeah. To that point, you know, we've talked theoretically, but I also want to talk about what you're doing in this race. Have you voted and who are you voting for? I have voted. I voted for the most part straight Republican down the ticket. But I held consistent to my pattern in the past, which was while I agree with many of

the former president's policies at some level. And I'm not a fan of the Democratic policies. I checked the write-in box and wrote none of the above. You did the write-in in 2016 and 2020, right? Was there anything this time, did you consider not this time? I did, actually. I was very close to just checking the box for Trump. What stopped you?

- Can I ask a different question first? What changed to actually make you think about it and then what stopped you? - I think I'm personally offended still that we had a major party candidate

who clearly wasn't mentally up to the task of running or running the country for the next four years, Joe Biden. And it seems to me that everybody kept quiet about his performance. Oh, he's doing great. And then you saw that debate. And I've done elder abuse cases with the prosecutor's office. And I'm like, it was sad to see and sad to see his legacy end like that. I mean, he's had a career public service. He should be

honored for that even if I don't like some of the outcomes of it and to see that and it's like we did that and we didn't give the country real options at least the Republicans had a competitive primary I may not like the outcome

But we did that. That debate made you think, maybe I should vote for Trump. Well, it did. It did. Because it was like, it was that and then it's also some of the things. So when you call your political opponents fascists and Nazis all the time or racists all the time, because they called George W. Bush a racist after Hurricane Katrina. Ronald Reagan was labeled a racist at times because of some of the Just Say No campaign. When you do that repeatedly, you take away the power of that term and word and

And to me, if you do it too much, it's like you don't have any credibility. And so it was a combination of, well, we didn't really get a choice to see what the Democrats had to offer. Plus, the media reports on Trump and covers Trump a certain way that they don't cover the other side. And so it was, you know what? It was almost, you know what? Screw you, media. Screw you, establishment. Have fun. But so that's why I was thinking about it. And then...

I was thinking and I was like, you know what? I still can't get over some of my, the same initial feelings I had from 2016 about how one talks about women, how one talks about sexual assault. I just couldn't get over it. He was found liable for sexual assault.

Is there any part of you that ever thought about voting for Kamala Harris? No. You know, for her, the problem is, is when she ran into in 2020 and 2019, she announced several policy positions that were just like, no, not even.

I'm saying right now, Harris is on the trail with Liz Cheney or is saying, you know, she's going to have Republicans that she'll take advice from when she's in office. Why don't those messages move you? Because you don't get the flip flop. I don't think she had this huge epiphany. And she was she's been in the administration for four years. At some point, you have ownership for being part of the administration. Last question is, um.

Do you care about Clallam's hot streak any? And do you think they keep it? And would you feel any way if they were to break it? I do care about it. Do you want to see Clallam keep it? I want to see it. It is a big source of local pride. It's going to be tough to keep it this time, I think. My gut says that Trump might pull it out nationally. But the thing that makes me concerned...

is that Trump has never gotten over 48% of the vote in this county. When he won this county in 2016, there was a large segment of voters that voted third party. Whereas the Democratic nominee has gotten over 50% in this county. So it's a little easier for that Democrat to reach that win. But I hope we keep it whoever wins. I mean, it's a source of pride.

For Matt, Trump's behavior wasn't enough to push him to Harris. And he doesn't have trust that either side will accept the results. The last person we talked to was Jim Bourget. It's good to see you again. You too. How's it going? How's the last year been? Well, the Dodgers won. I was from Los Angeles. Oh, I hate to do it to the Yankees. I hate to twist a little pain in there, but yeah. I mean, the Yankees could take some pain. He's lived in Clallam for 24 years.

And his voting record actually matches the county's since 2008. He voted for Obama twice, then Trump, then Biden. He's been like a one-man bellwether. And this time… — Have you voted already? — Yes. — Who'd you vote for? — Kamala. — He went for Harris.

Would you describe your vote as more anti-Trump or more pro-Harris? I'd say equal. I'm very pro what her policies and platforms seem to be. I'm encouraged by that. I think it's much more geared towards average people and what we need and what we're lacking from our government at this point in time. But I feel such a massive high level of vitriol

towards not only trump but the republican party for nominating him for not having the courage to convict him when he was impeached when which he should have been and just that they can't do anything better than that is really disturbing to me and then i thought kamala just destroyed trump in that debate i thought it was humiliating for him and their party and things he says and does that are just

Off the charts. If I remember correctly, you voted for Donald Trump in 2016. Much to my dismay and horror, which I don't admit to most people, but too late last time you saw me and too late now. You know, and at that point, I just I was fed up with politics as usual. And as I've told my wife numerous times, I really screwed up and I didn't do enough research into politics.

what kind of a person Trump was. But yeah, I voted for him and then I regretted it almost immediately. Yeah. If you could take yourself back to that headspace, what were you prioritizing at that time that led you to vote for him? Just wanted to see a drastic change in how politically we do business, which I think...

is still an issue for most people and for me. And I think... Is that about the type of person? Is it about... Like, I guess I'm saying, what is it that you were looking to shake up? Well, I think what the vast majority of Americans would like to see shook up at this point. And if most anybody I talk to, left or right, term limits, get rid of big money in politics, get lobbying out of their...

Because I sense that people see this disconnect with politicians actually acting like they're some sort of king or queen and they can do whatever they want. And they ride this gravy train for 40 years. They end up with millions of dollars somehow. And they're totally out of touch with the common man. And I think we still need major changes relative to that that I hope will come in my lifetime. So do you consider yourself at this point a Democrat?

For a long time I've considered myself an independent, but to me, unfortunately, there's rarely independents that are strong enough, have a strong enough personality, have a platform

So with that in mind, you didn't have a question on who you were going to vote for. I imagine you've still been deeply invested in the kind of twist and turns of this race. How have you felt like kind of tone wise? How are you feeling emotionally going into Tuesday? Yeah.

I'm hoping many millions of people feel the same as I. I've got every emotion under the sun. In fact, sleepless nights because of this. There's times I've had to stop watching videos and rallies. And I tried it. I can't even bear to look or listen to Trump at this point in time. What do you plan to do on Election Day? What's your... On Election Day? Yeah. Pray. Hope. Hide. I don't know. I'm really...

uncomfortable as to what could possibly happen, not only on election day, but what's going to happen the next 30 days after that. And here's another aspect of the whole unpleasant equation is all this stealing of elections and all this. Well, 99% of everything I've researched, it's Republicans doing this. The fake elector scheme, trying to control legislatures to control how the electors are processed, the whole deal.

— It's, yeah, it's terrifying to me, this whole thing. I just wish it would go, there would be a landslide. There's no disputing anything. We're moving on and we're going to get back to normalcy in our country. That's my hope. — That's your hope? Is that your bet? — No. — No. — I think there's going to be massive chaos. I also am afraid there's going to be a lot of violence. To me, it unfortunately seems inevitable. Yeah. — Regardless of whether James Bell, Weather Street continues in this election,

He's definitely representative of something that's become increasingly clear over the past year. Donald Trump has so dramatically upended our political system that no matter a person's politics, no matter who they're voting for, everyone seems to have a hard time imagining a peaceful election, given what happened the last time. After the break, more from Clallam County.

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I'm Shane Goldmacher. I'm a national political correspondent for The New York Times covering the 2024 election. I have off and on for years covered the role of money in politics, and that means sifting through tens of thousands of line items in campaign reports, looking at who's getting paid, how much they're getting paid, who's donating to these campaigns, who's reserved the most ads on Google, who's this billionaire changing the shape of the race with a single check. Look, the campaign spin, the strategists tell you one thing, the numbers don't really lie.

and those numbers help us ask the right questions. That's what's so special about The New York Times. We get to tap the collective knowledge and wisdom of my colleagues who have expertise in every nook and cranny of this country and this campaign trail to tell you the full story of what's happening in these critical moments in the last few weeks of the election. If this kind of coverage is important to you, you can support it by subscribing to The New York Times at nytimes.com slash subscribe. We've got tattoos over here.

Ased, can you describe what we're doing right now and where we are and what is around us? We are in downtown Port Angeles and it is the Halloween parade in downtown. Considering Clallam County's voting record, I wanted to talk to as many people there as I could. So we are walking around with a bucket of candy to entice children. Caitlin and I decided to conduct an

an extremely unscientific survey. — While we are also asking their adults around us how they voted and having a little mock election ourselves. — We crashed Halloween festivities in downtown Port Angeles, the seat of Clallam County, and walked around with a bucket of candy and some Post-it notes, asking people to trade us their political opinions for a Kit Kat or a Snickers.

— Can you describe some costumes around us? — We got an Elmo, we have a Cookie Monster, we have a Luigi, we have... We've got a witch. We've got a pirate. — After we talked, I asked them to write down who they're voting for and why. Harris voters got a blue Post-it note. Trump voters got a red one. Yellow for third party and undecided. And disclaimer: This is absolutely not endorsed by the New York Times polling team.

So can you tell us who you voted for this time? Well, I voted for outlooks and policies and feelings, and that would be Trump. Not Trump, I can tell you that. We want Harrison Walls. Have you voted already? Yes. Can you tell me who? Donald Trump. So IVF and IUI have had some controversy in the past few years. This little baby was IVF.

And I feel like Tim Walz, I feel like he's the best candidate to protect my family's future. Okay, who'd you vote for? Trump. You vote for Trump? Can you tell me the biggest reason why you voted for Trump? I think he's just open and honest. I know people think he's a crook and everything else, but...

What you see is what you get, and that's the way it is with Trump. I've always wanted a woman to be president, so I know that's not important to a lot of people, but it is to me. Jesus isn't running for office, and so we choose the lesser of two evils. And so I choose Trump because other policies fall in line with what I believe. I'm undecided. At this moment in time, I'm still undecided. Kamala, the only real choice.

Okay, why'd you vote for him?

And I can't stand the other two. Did you vote for Trump previously or have you always voted for Libertarian? I voted for Trump twice, yeah. So what changed between the last time and this time, if you don't mind me asking? I think he lost his mind when he lost the election. I don't think he knows how to accept losing. And that for you was a deal breaker. Sometimes people lose. Most people we talked to knew how they were voting or had already sent in a mail-in ballot. And most had a clear reason why.

But one undecided voter stuck out and spoke to some of the themes we've been hearing over the past year. Now, do you want to participate in our little mock election? Yeah, I kind of was curious. Awesome! Can I vote for rank choice voting? Is that—because that's really what I want. You know, I feel like this election has made me more passionate about that than anything else. Why? Why?

Because I don't really like either of the options. And I don't want to be, like, quote-unquote wasting my vote. And I feel like I feel that pressure a lot more this election. And I would say that, like, voting third party is, you know, when people are like, you're essentially throwing your vote. Or, like, I just want more options. And I haven't voted yet. I still am sitting on it because I don't know what to do. I truly am just, like, very torn. And I've never felt this torn about an election. What exactly are you torn about? I think...

I know that the presidential election is huge right now, but I do feel more invested in the local politics just because I don't really know how much the president matters, to be perfectly honest. I mean, the Supreme Court is making crazy decisions right now that's influencing us more than anything else, really. Have you been a Democrat, been a Republican? Generally a Democrat. But then I'm curious about how you have felt about the options on the Democratic side, like from Biden and then to Harris. Yeah, it's more because of the wars. Is it?

Israel, Gaza or Ukraine? Mainly that. I mean, mainly that. Just seeing where our money goes. And I'm like, I think it is frustrating that everything I've gotten from the Democratic Party is like, do your part. If you don't vote for Harris, you're giving your vote to Trump, which I don't think is fair to put that on me. It's not my fault. And I do not want to vote for Trump.

There's a lot of reasons. The shame tactics are making you think like, huh. I don't love that. I don't love that. I don't love that there's not like a distinct like, we're going to end this war. We're going to get Roe v. Wade. Like, I want to get some guarantees for some specific rights and for some... And not just, I'm not Trump. Yes. Got it. I don't think that's a great reason to be like, yeah, okay, this is a good enough person. I'm still likely going to vote Democrat just because...

I don't think we have a system where the third parties even have a chance. And I don't like that. So I think realistically what I'm going to end up doing is vote Democrat in this one because it is, for me, the lesser of two evils. You're saying the scare tactics may work on you one more time. One more time, just this last time. Just one more time. But after this, they're not getting it from me. Now, do you want one of our undecided stickers or are you going to give us a Harris sticker? Oh, you're asking me the big question. Yeah, I'm like, I'm kind of asking you.

This is where my ballot is sitting on my table, just like mostly filled out with like one blank where I'm like... I do love the idea of like, yeah, you're like, all right, I might send it the day before, but you all are going to make me wait until the last day possible. I know. It's been like weighing on my mind so much. That's why I was like, oh, this is a good test for me. Yeah, to talk through your kind of emotions. Yeah. So yeah, do you want to call yourself undecided or do you want to call yourself... I think there's enough women in my life and...

Like little girls who I love and want to see them grow up with people who respect women, that I will probably vote Democrat this one. So hot to play with. But I don't love that they're making me do this. I'm saying this. Yes. Hear us. We want more options. We kept walking around, admiring costumes and bribing future voters with candy.

before talking to their parents. — Hello, how are you? — Hi, how are you? — Do you want some candy? — Hi, do you want candy? — Trick or treat, huh? — Yeah. — We got some Reese's, we got some Kit Kats. — Here you go. — Here you go. — Oh, you're welcome. — What's your costume? — It's a Mike Wazowski. — A Mike Wazowski. That's awesome. Happy Halloween. — Thank you. — And over and over, what was clear. — When you filled out your little ballot for Kamala Harris, how did you feel?

Was that the sense of apathy and disillusionment we'd found here last year had been replaced by an overwhelming sense of anxiety?

What are you going to do on Tuesday? How's your plan to deal with the avoidance when it's unavoidable? Well, I run a horse rescue and I have 12 horses, so I'm just going to bury my head in the mud and do my job and...

I don't know. I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm either going to cry or I'm going to have like a slight sigh of relief. What's your primary emotion heading into election day? I'm just worried for these kids. Like if we don't get beyond the Trump era, I'm worried about what it does to our country even more because it's just all the division. And I don't blame just Trump. It's, of course, it's been brewing for a long time, but

I think our country could turn to a new chapter if we get someone else in there.

I am very, very nervous that this election is going to be rigged. I know that came up a bunch last time. Why are you nervous again this time? Well, because I think that the machine is so powerful. I think that there's a lot of things going on with the mail-in ballots. They never really did enough work.

vetting of the Dominion machines. I think Trump had a very good case that the last election was rigged and they squashed it. And then I think January 6th is another thing they're running on. Okay, not a good thing going in, breaking windows and stuff, but what about the FBI being there? Hundreds of FBI agents being infiltrated. And then you got the Democrats right now saying that Trump is going to lock up all his political opponents.

Well, Steve Bannon just got out. Guy's never, ever committed a crime. So, just a note. Steve Bannon served four months in prison for contempt of Congress after he was convicted by a jury. And of course, there's no evidence that the FBI was involved in January 6th.

But as with the folks we caught up with from a year ago, it's clear the sense of mistrust is everywhere. The last people we spoke with were three women dressed as traffic cones. They'd been helping out with the event.

And we'd run into one of them earlier in the day. Have y'all voted already? Yes. Can you tell me who you voted for? Sure. I voted for Kamala Harris. I also voted for Kamala Harris. We got three Harris votes. Can you tell us what was the biggest motivating factor for you? If there's a why behind that, what would it be? Women's health issues, for sure. And the democracy. And I don't like the way things are going with our country, the way we're so negative and

It's become okay for people to say terrible things that you never would have allowed your third grader to say. And I want that to stop. How about y'all? Definitely rights to have an abortion and make decisions with your doctor is probably top of the line. But also just in general, I think America could really use a strong woman to lead us and do wonderful things. Yeah, I concur.

Ditto. We hear so much about the need for abortion rights and things like that. And it tracks with something we've been following in this election, which is like a kind of gender gap. You've seen women voting Democratic in bigger numbers, as some young men in particular are voting for more Republicans. I wonder if you found that that's true in your personal life. No, that's like, to the T, I feel like that is like so accurate. Just amongst like my peer group, I'm 21 and like,

Almost all the young men that I know vote Republican. Does that surprise you? Or let's take the opposite side. Yeah, maybe more men are voting for Republicans, but it does seem like more women are voting for Democrats. Should we tie that to the abortion rights Dobbs decision? Why do we think that is?

I think that's definitely a big playing point. I know talking with my boyfriend, he didn't quite understand, I think, the reaction I had to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. What do you mean? I think he didn't expect me to be so emotional being in Washington and being kind of in a blue state that I maybe don't have to worry about it if they turn it back to states' rights. But I'm hurting for all the women that aren't in blue states. What was that conversation like?

A very emotional one. And I think it took some time, but I think he left it feeling like, "Oh, shit. This would affect us, and maybe I should care enough to ask women why it's such a big issue." Yeah. There's so much kind of angst and anxiety around the election, particularly four or eight years ago. Do you feel that same level of stress around Tuesday?

I feel it worse. I've noticed that there are not as many signs out. And I think that maybe people are just maybe there's some anxiety to telling people publicly who they're voting for. But I also think we're tired, too. We're all exhausted. You know, being 21, like Trump is what, eight years ago? Like, what has it been like coming of age in that type of era?

I don't know. I feel like if you look throughout history, there's always times of strife. There's never a time of...

True peace. So I don't think it's any different from anybody else's. Like, it's... Sure. You know what I mean? Yeah. We all have our problems. Let me... Go ahead. Can I say that I differ? I disagree a little bit. I'm 73, so I'm significantly older. My family had come from... Escaped the Holocaust in Germany. And I am very, very scared.

for what I'm seeing and the way our country is going and how people are ignoring history and how we may have to relive it. And that's totally...

different from past elections that I've met. And is it Trump that has caused that difference? Like, what do you think is the source of the difference? I think that he has allowed political correctness to get out of control in terms of you don't have to worry about what you say anymore, so people just say anything they think they believe at that moment. And I'm frightened. Uh-huh. Got it. Both sides say if the other side wins, we think the country's, like, lost right now.

Do you all feel like the stakes are that high? I am definitely feeling that. I am very anxious. I don't sleep well anymore. Anyone who I've talked to, I try to say, hey, calm me down because I'm worried. Do you all think the stakes are that high?

Yeah, I have concerns. I weirdly feel calm about the outcomes of the election. This is the most politically active I've felt like I've been. So I kind of feel some peace with it, but I do feel like there's always that concern. And I feel like if the other side were to win, I don't really want to wrap my head around what that would look like for a lot of people I know and love. Are you zen? Yeah. I mean, I feel like I'm kind of like eternally overly optimistic about

So I feel like things, everything works out eventually, always. So eventually everything will work out. Cool. Thank you all. We really appreciate your time. I think we have our little blue post-its we'd love to give you. And if you could just write...

you voted for Harris as you're doing it, you're actually going to be our last people today. So, you know, thank you. You actually might tip the scales because we're kind of 50-50 here. So we really appreciate y'all's time. So Clallam definitely lived up to its reputation for ideological diversity. We talked to Democrats, Republicans, Independents, even people who plan to vote third party.

all in the space of this one small street in this one small town. But of all the people we spoke to, I think our traffic cones stuck with me the most. They seemed to clearly speak to the growing gender divide that could define much of this year's election results. Even beyond that, the way they were torn between hope and fear also felt reflective of many Americans. Of course, before heading out,

We had one last thing to do. So we are back in our hotel after conducting an extremely unscientific survey of the residents of Port Angeles who were at a Halloween parade who also agreed to talk with us. This is, I believe, what they call a small sample size. But we do have some data. And now it is time to count the vote, I think. Somebody folded one up really small. Yeah, a hair is for abortion rights. Hair is the only real choice.

Democrat says, "Go beyond fear, embrace hope." The fourth vote for Harris says, "I lied to fit in with my peers." - Sorry, dash the traffic code. - Oh my goodness. She's the 21 year old. - Probably. - A Trump voter? 'Cause we asked her last. Oh, what tea? - Intrigue. - I remember her folding it up and handing it to me really like, interesting, well we'll put her in the Trump pile. - I guess so.

- Gosh, I was not expecting this. - What a twist. Kamala Harris for democracy, four. Harris, powerful woman and abortion rights, five. Harris, but really ranked choice voting, six. I want the first female president. I want a woman president. Harris, smiley face. I love Tim Walz. Trump is an awful human and Kamala is a human. Kamala keeps our country together. - Here's a Trump vote for the economy.

A Trump vote that just says... Trump. A third one that doesn't give a reason but just says Trump. Trump, he's the full package. Trump, economic policy, foreign policy.

He will make America safe and wealthy again. And then we'll count our secret switcheroo. And then we have... And we have three undecideds. Two undecideds, one third party. So the final results of our extremely scientific poll of Clallam County's Halloween parade gives us 11 votes for Kamala Harris. Wait, let me make sure. I don't want to get a crease of fraud. Let me count this.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 votes for Kamala Harris. We don't endorse sticky notes as a form of ballot. They're, like, tricky to count because they, unsurprisingly, got stuck together. Eight votes for Donald Trump, two undecided, and one vote for the Libertarian. So I think we can declare Kamala Harris the winner of the Clallam County Halloween mock election. LAUGHTER

And you know what they say, as the Clallam County Halloween mock election goes, so does the country. As it turned out, our traffic cones were not on the same page. And at least in Clallam County, the phenomenon of the shy Trump voters still exists, according to our very unscientific mock election. Which, to be clear, is in no way predictive of how tonight's result may go.

Though, to be honest, I don't think predicting the result is the point of election coverage or our reporting efforts over the past two years. It's showing the country for what it is. Diverse, polarized, and more complicated than any binary choice between two candidates can ever represent. That's The Runner for Tuesday, November 5th, 2024. Welcome to Election Day. ♪♪

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The Run-Up is reported by me, Ested Herndon, and produced by Elisa Gutierrez, Caitlin O'Keefe, and Anna Foley. It's edited by Rachel Dry and Lisa Tobin, with original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Pat McCusker, Diane Wong, Sophia Landman, and Alisha Ba'i-Tub. It was mixed by Sophia Landman and fact-checked by Caitlin Love.

Special thanks to Paula Schumann, Sam Dolnick, Larissa Anderson, David Halfinger, Maddie Maciello, Mahima Chablani, Jeffrey Miranda, and Elizabeth Briscoe. Do you have questions about the 2024 election? Email us at therunupatnytimes.com. Or better yet, record your question using the voice memo app in your phone. That email again is therunupatnytimes.com. Thanks for listening, y'all.