Voters in Bensalem, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, told CNN what motivated them to get out and vote in today’s midterm elections, including issues around the economy, crime and abortion.
Rosanne and Jack Payson have lived in the Philadelphia suburb for 45 years.
“I don’t like Donald Trump. Voting for a Republican like Mastriano means that we’re going to have more trouble,” Jack Payson told CNN’s Jason Carroll.
GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano is facing Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro in the governor’s race.
Rosanne Payson said the Supreme Court ruling on Roe v. Wade is one of the issues that motivated her to vote.
“The Roe issue bothers me. I think women should be able to choose. … It is not simply that they don’t want the child and they want an abortion, there’s other issues involved,” she said.
Pennsylvania voter Brittany Castor said she identifies as a Republican and has voted for candidates in both parties in her life, but the issue of a woman’s right to choose “absolutely” drove her to the polls this year.
Joseph and Susan O’Rourke said that crime, the economy and the border are the key issues for them.
Joseph O’Rourke said that GOP Senate candidate Mehmet Oz has spoken well about those three issues. On the gubernatorial side, he said while “I don’t think we have a good selection,” he voted for Mastriano.
“If you listen to Mastriano, he is all law enforcement and everything, but then Josh Shapiro was the attorney general so, you know, it’s a difficult choice to make,” he said.
He added that, like other swing voters in Bucks County, he voted for former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, and then voted for President Biden.
On swing voters in Pennsylvania, voter Jack Payson said, “I really think that it is good that people are flexible, that they should take into account all of the issues, that they should have the right to change their mind.”
Voter William Castelberg Jr. said that crime and the economy brought him to the polls.
“Crime is big, you know, it’s really big in the city of Philadelphia. I would hate to see it come to the suburbs here in Bucks County. The second thing is inflation. You know, there’s so many people that can’t afford day to day, it’s sad,” he told Carroll.
Here are some demographics of the state:
Source: www.cnn.com