Feb 09, 2020 — The political season is ramping up in the North Country, with the race for Congress between Republican incumbent Elise Stefanik and Democrat Tedra Cobb already well underway. New York’s Presidential primary is just two months away.
Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be checking in with individual voters as they wrestle with their decisions.
Ella LaMora, 20, is a nursing student at Clinton Community College. She’s from Saranac, a small town just west of Plattsburgh, and came to Plattsburgh to hear Tedra Cobb speak at a campagin event.
Cobb, a Democrat from Canton, is running to represent New York’s 21st Congressional district, a seat Republican Elise Stefanik, from Schuylerville, has held since 2015.
Cobb ran against Stefanik in 2018 and lost by nearly 15 points. Despite this being Cobb’s second run for Congress, Ella LaMora says she doesn’t know a lot about the candidate yet.
“I’m kind of here to see what’s going on because I feel like no matter what I’m probably going to vote Democrat.”
But LaMora says she wants to be really sure about her vote. While she describes her family as “very, very liberal,” LaMora says she’s here tonight to make up her own mind.
“I don’t want to just be what my parents believe or what my family believes.”
“That’s also why I’m here,” LaMora says, “to have my own opinions and kind of see, based on the information I gather tonight, what I can form as an opinion and be a functioning member of society.”
There are things about Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik that LaMora does like. She says Stefanik has done a lot for the veteran community.
A few minutes before the event begins, LaMora then looks up and waves across the room. “Sorry, my grandma just got here,” LaMora says with a smile. Her grandma sits down next to her and the event kicks off. Tedra Cobb takes the mic.
The event lasts about 40 minutes. Afterwards, LaMora says she “loved it.” “[I’m] quite shocked, actually. I didn’t know [Cobb] lived off the grid and about her business and stuff like that. I love her attitude. I thought it was great.”
There was one thing, though, that didn’t sit well with LaMora. “[I was] a little iffy about the healthcare stuff at first,” says LaMora.
LaMora is a big Bernie Sanders fan. Like him, she supports Medicare for all. Cobb did campaign on the plan back in 2018, but has now come out against it. At this campaign event, Cobb says she supports a “public option,” which would give people the choice to buy into Medicare.
“I think I’m definitely more with Bernie [Sanders] there, but some of the points [Cobb] was making tonight, I understand, too, but I think I still lean towards Medicare for all. As far as human rights, you know what I mean, I think it’s only fair to put it simply.”
Despite not aligning on healthcare, LaMora says she will be casting a ballot for Tedra Cobb this fall.
Editors Note: Over the coming weeks and months we’ll be talking with North Country voters across the political spectrum. We’re especially looking for people still deciding who they’ll be casting ballots for this fall. If you’re one of those and want to share your story, email news@ncpr.org.
The post NY21 Voters: Ella LaMora on forming her own political opinions appeared first on Down The Middle News.
source https://downthemiddlenews.com/ny21-voters-ella-lamora-on-forming-her-own-political-opinions/
No comments:
Post a Comment