Voter voices: Why I like my 2016 Democratic candidate
If you plan to cast a ballot in Saturday’s Democratic presidential primary, who do you plan to vote for?
Here is what some S.C. Democratic voters had to say about who they plan to vote for. See videos of these voters, with this story online at thestate.com.
Hillary Clinton
Hometown: Columbia
Occupation: Retired
Age: 68
Why are you supporting Clinton? “Because she’s the only one. … She knows from first hand, from way back when up until the present time, what the problems are ... and also I think that she’s the only one that’s willing to work for the people and not for themselves. ... I did support (then-U.S. Sen. Barack) Obama because it was time for an African-American president. But now I feel it’s time for a female president, and she’s the best person for the job.”
Bernie Sanders
Hometown: Columbia
Occupation: DJ and bartender
Age: 40
Why are you supporting Sanders? “I support Bernie mostly because of campaign-finance reform. I think that’s a key issue in this election. ... I actually believe in the concept of this political revolution. I think that if we’re going to have a democracy, we’re going to have to change how we keep getting money from corporate interests and ... lobbyists.”
Hillary Clinton
Hometown: Columbia
Occupation: Self-employed graphic artist, photographer
Age: 57
Why are you supporting Clinton? “She’s got the best resume. I think she’ll get things done. She’s got a full command of the issues — a broad range of issues — not just a single-issue candidate. And she has offered solutions, and I want her nominating the next (U.S.) Supreme Court justice. The balance of power rests a lot with our courts, and we need to keep moving forward and not going backward.”
Bernie Sanders
Hometown: Columbia
Occupation: Local government researcher
Age: 31
Why are you supporting Sanders?
“His criminal-justice platform resonated with me because I am a mother of an African-American young male, and with all the police brutality that has been going on across the country, I believe Sen. Sanders would be the best person to eliminate the police brutality and the mass incarcerations that we have plaguing America. His free- college initiative ... would give more people incentive to go to (college) and to get better jobs for their families.”
Hillary Clinton
Hometown: Lexington
Occupation: U.S. Navy veteran
Age: 58
Why are you supporting Clinton? “I can’t think of anybody more qualified to be president of the United States, and that’s the main reason why I support her. ... I would like to see President Clinton carry on the progress that President Obama has made with the appalling situation we’ve had with the Veterans Administration here locally. There has been great progress made — it’s a lot better — and I would like to see that continued, and I believe Hillary would do that.”
Bernie Sanders
Hometown: Gaffney
Occupation: Allen University student
Age: 24
Why are you supporting Sanders? “I support Bernie Sanders because he fights for free education and economic equality and distribution of wealth. As a college student, I would love to have a free education due to the fact that we struggle a lot of times with trying to pay for education as a whole, just trying to make it through as far as part-time jobs — it’s a lot of focus that has to be on that instead of on education.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 12:17 PM.