Voter Snapshots: Election Day can't arrive soon enough for most Flathead Valley voters

WHATEVER THE OUTCOME of this year’s vitriolic campaign season, voters will likely unite around at least one shared sentiment: Thank God it’s over.

In a series of interviews conducted around the valley on Friday, most voters willing to be interviewed expressed support for Republican Donald Trump in the presidential race, as well as the GOP nominees for governor and the U.S. House of Representatives. But many also indicated disappointment with the negative tenor of the campaigns, which has intensified during the run-up to Election Day.

Taking a stroll through downtown Kalispell on Friday was John Francis, a chiropractor and 59-year resident of Kalispell, who said he plans to vote Republican all the way down the ballot.

“Not because he’s handsome or smart, but because he’s not a politician,” Francis said of his preference for Trump. “I really believe that Hillary and Obama and the Democrats in general have co-opted these branches of government.”

Also taking advantage of the late-fall sunshine on Main Street were Thom and Betty de Hoop of Kalispell, who said they also work as medical professionals.

Both indicated deep concerns with a possible Trump presidency, while expressing varying levels of support for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

“I think she’s capable, she’s savvy and smart, and it’s time for a woman,” Betty said.

Part of Thom’s support for Clinton was rooted in his concerns over Trump’s stability, or lack thereof.

“I believe in some of the things he says; I just don’t think he can get them done,” Thom said. “He’d be ready to go to war over a bad Tweet he gets.”

The couple has two sons in the military, but said they’ll be casting their ballots for Democratic U.S. House candidate Denise Juneau over incumbent Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican from Whitefish who served as a Navy SEALS commander.

“I don’t think [Zinke] is as interested in our state,” Thom said, echoing Democrats’ criticisms of Montana’s lone Congressman as being overly ambitious in pursuit of a higher office.

Sipping a coffee in downtown Kalispell’s Ceres Bakery, Whitefish resident Gloria Williams described herself as a “conservative Republican” — a designation she said had kept her from casting an absentee ballot for Trump. Instead, she opted for Evan McMullin, an Independent candidate enjoying a recent surge in the polls in his home state of Utah.

“I won’t vote for Hillary, and Donald Trump I believe is just another tax-and-spend [politician] who has just made a lot of promises,” Williams said. She also cited her aversion to Trump’s behavior and his prior treatment of his Republican primary opponents, adding that she also doubts his honesty. “Maybe, if he apologized Monday, I would vote for him.”

As a native Texan who moved to the valley five years ago, Williams admitted she’s still unfamiliar with some of the local politicians, and said Montana’s independent streak tends to blur the lines between Democrats and Republicans in down-ballot races. But she cited Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte’s proven business record as her reason for choosing him over incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock.

“I feel like he’s a good businessman who could run the government well,” Williams said.

Visiting Whitefish for the weekend to cheer on her sister’s volleyball team, Butte resident Kara Criscuolo, 19, said she plans to vote for the first time Tuesday, but is still deliberating between Clinton and Trump.

“I liked how Bernie Sanders was, to get everyone together,” she said. “I don’t think Hillary or Trump are going to do that. ... I know they’re both competing against each other, but it seems like they get down on each other so much.”

She said she plans to vote for a second term for Bullock, and listed health care as the issue that concerns her most.

“I have friends who don’t go to the doctor because they can’t afford it,” she said.

Mary Vickery and her husband Brian were also visiting from out of town, but were far from undecided in the presidential contest. The Stevensville couple chatted briefly outside the convenience store in Happy Valley, where they had stopped on their way to visit Mary’s parents in Eureka.

“Trump,” Brian Vickery answered, adding that Clinton is “evil incarnate.” But, he added, “He’s not that great, either.”

“I would love to see a woman as president, but that woman is the last person I would want to represent my gender,” Mary Vickery said.

While both acknowledged reservations about Trump’s behavior, Brian admired the Republican nominee for his outsider status and hoped he would bust up the “good-old-boy network” in Washington, D.C., if elected.

Both also planned to vote for Zinke and Gianforte. Regarding the gubernatorial race, Brian said he was less interested in the candidates’ personal lives, which have provided fodder for attack ads and stump speeches delivered by both campaigns.

“I don’t know that [Gianforte] will be able to do anything himself, but at least his votes will go in the right direction,” Brian said.

Seated outside Amazing Crepes in downtown Whitefish, Kim and Tony Vasquez were less enthusiastic about their votes for Trump, and both said they were more than ready for the campaign season to be over.

“It’s ugly,” Kim said. Tony added, “It’s exhausting. ... It’s kind of hard to talk about with people, because it’s so emotional.”

As owners of a dentistry business in the resort town, they said their main concerns center around the future of health care. With insurance premiums expected to rise next year under the Affordable Care Act, Tony said he’s avoided hiring new employees despite his expanding business.

It’s one of the domestic issues Kim said deserves more focus by the country’s leadership.

“I just feel like we need to keep our nose out of other people’s business. No more shipping people overseas to wars,” she said. “We need to take care of our own country.”

Walking his dog down Nucleus Avenue Friday morning, Columbia Falls resident John McKee listed “not going crazy” as one of his top concerns this election. While he already voted straight-ticket for the Democrats, he said he hopes some degree of bipartisanship emerges from the political fray.

“Hopefully, there’ll be some civility, and the parties will actually work together,” McKee said.

Barbara Jenkins split her ticket between Republicans and Democrats. She owns The Barber’s Chair in downtown Columbia Falls, but lives on Foothills Road north of Bigfork. Jenkins said she voted early for Trump and Gianforte, but opted to cast her ballot for Juneau after seeing her speak during a Martin Luther King Day celebration in Kalispell.

“To see a Native American with her degrees and her passion, I was so impressed,” Jenkins said.

She doesn’t like either of the major candidates for president this year, but said Clinton’s alleged involvement in the Benghazi attacks tipped her toward Trump.

Ultimately, though, Jenkins said she’s tired of the negative campaign rhetoric and would prefer to hear more about the candidates’ policy proposals.

“I think it’s filtered down to local elections, the garbage and trash talk,” she said. “You have to kind of look through the ads and commercials. ... I’d really like to hear more about the actual proposals and what they would do.”

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.