Bay State Dems frustrated with fractured field, hope for front-runner
Massachusetts voters taking to the polls Tuesday voiced frustration with the fractured field of Democratic candidates they had to contend with and cited electability and the unseating of President Trump as top priorities.
“I think the race is still going to be fractured, unfortunately. And I honestly blame it on the fact that we’ve taken too long and we had too many candidates,” said West Roxbury resident Susan Ormonty, who told the Herald she voted for former Vice President Joe Biden. “I think we had to narrow down earlier.”
Mark Perry agreed with Ormonty, saying he thinks it will be a close race for the top spot, but he said he was voting for Biden as well because he thinks he has the best chance of beating Trump.
“Electability is my top concern,” Perry said. “Anything to get rid of Trump.”
That sentiment was shared by several voters Tuesday, the majority of whom said that electability was the most important issue heading into the election, edging out issues such as health care or climate change.
“Something about Biden just resonates with me,” said Michael Burke, who stood outside the polling station at Holy Name Parish with a
Biden sign. “I’d say truly I would like to see Trump get beaten and personally speaking I think Biden has the best chance to do that.”
However, some voters said because Trump had such a large appeal to people who opposed the political establishment in 2016, Sen. Bernie Sanders has the best chance of flipping those people to his side.
“I feel we need a inspirational, exciting candidate on the Democratic ticket to get people activated,” said Peter Engle, who said he voted for Sanders. “Mr. Trump, who I do not support, is a really good entertainer. He excites his base and his opposition needs to excite the base to get out the votes.”
Among the voters who supported Sanders was 21year-old Sebastien De Carbonell, who said he thinks Biden will fail to defeat Trump for the same reasons Hillary Clinton failed during the last election.
“I think because both Buttigieg and Klobuchar got behind Biden, the race is going to start leaning more toward him, which concerns me because I think he doesn’t appeal to the middle electorate that got Trump elected last time,” De Carbonell said. “They’re looking for someone who’s willing to shake up the establishment.”
The news of Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar suspending their campaigns and endorsing Biden right
before Super Tuesday was also a polarizing topic for Democratic voters, as some said the timing only made it harder for Democrats to unify behind a candidate.
“Klobuchar and Pete coming over to Biden is a real significant change and that should have happened earlier, I think we keep shooting ourselves in the foot,” Ormonty said. “Someone has to be able to beat Trump, and I think we’ve taken too long to narrow it down.”