‘We shouldn’t be going back in time’: Americans in swing states on who they voted for – and why

Ryan Swingle (51) and Amy Martin (51)

Photograph: Ben Rollins/The Guardian

Swingle: “I’ve grown up a Democrat my whole life. So I suppose I was programmed to do it. That said, the Donald Trump world is something that I find pretty repellent. It feels very bullying-ish to me, and mean-spirited. I am disturbed by what I consider the casualness with which he lies. I’m disturbed by the ways in which he seems to fawn over and support really awful regimes. I think we’re on the cusp of a new and fundamentally different world with AI, and I want somebody smarter and more humble at the wheel when that happens.”

Martin: “I just think he’s a horrible human being, and I cannot vote for that. On abortion, I don’t think it was right. What he did was horrible. We shouldn’t be going back in time..”

Felix Garcia (59)

Photograph: Elinor Kry/The Guardian

“I decided to vote for him because I’m very concerned with the economy, the border. He said he can bring the companies to implement the jobs over here. I don’t like the things they’re teaching my kids in the school. A lot of bad things. Trump didn’t say [the racist comments about Puerto Rico at his Madison Square Garden rally]. It’s not coming from him. He came to work for all America, not only Puerto Ricans. Not only Black guys. All of them. And I’m happy with that.”

Autumn Rae Garcia (26)

Photograph: Ben Rollins/The Guardian

“I’m really left and so for me a Democrat is like a glorified Republican. I, at first, was really uncomfortable with the idea voting for Harris and Trump, but at the end of the day, I will not be a person that won’t vote. Then I have no right to complain. When Harris started talking about certain policies that I really back up domestically, I appreciated that. The tax breaks for people making under $400,000: that’s huge. I’m gonna be honest. If Trump was coming up with actual policies instead of just the bull crap that comes out of his mouth, we would probably be having a different conversation..”

Josh Enders (36)

Photograph: Kasia Stręk/The Guardian

“I’m new to Arizona so I don’t know everything about all the people. But I made sure that I came and voted against people who were against abortion, that were trying to restrict abortion. I know we’re not in a great place and with the two candidates that we have that are potentially running the country, I don’t feel like we’re going to be in any better position.”

Jake Moser (22)

Photograph: The Guardian

“For me, I think a large part of it is ethics. It was really tough for me to vote for somebody who had said so many negative things about the American people. I think the thing about being president is that being in that office means you need to bring people together and not push them away. And I think dividing the country is just something that personally I couldn’t agree with. So that’s why I voted for Kamala.”

Brad Fogle (66) and Denise Fogle (59)

Photograph: Ben Rollins/The Guardian

Brad: “I’m one of those people – I don’t particularly like the personality of Trump but I like the policies. And then all the fascist comments and the negativity about Trump: you ask 90% of Americans, exactly what is a fascist, by definition? And I want to tell you something. I had to Google it two days ago because I’m a 66-year-old devout voter, registered Democrat and I didn’t exactly know. But the last Democrat I voted for was Jimmy Carter. Even though I may not be like-minded with something, whoever’s elected, I support: that’s our president.”

Denise: “I voted for Trump because my pocketbook is happier when he’s in office. And I may not like all his mean, mean stuff he does, but when my pocketbook is happy, I’m happy. Honestly, she’s had three years in office. What have you done? What have you done? If you did something, I’m going to listen to you, but you opened the border. You’re going to get all the illegals in this country. I don’t have a problem, but come in here legally.”

Jesse Torrez (67)

Photograph: Kasia Stręk/The Guardian

“Certainly it’s her ideology, but most importantly it’s the other guy who you’d have to be insane to vote for. We will live through anything, this country’s resilient. But I’m thinking about my grandchildren and what they’re going to need to face in the future, and I just have no confidence in the Republican candidate’s leadership or capabilities to lead this country. He’s proven that to me. I’m registered as an independent. It’s qualifications to me, and certainly character. Trump has displayed no character at all to me.”

Cyndi Keen (66)

Photograph: Kasia Stręk/The Guardian

“I’m straight Republican all the way. I’ve been a Republican all my life, so when it comes down to looking at having a better life for my children, for my grandkids and for myself, I like the Republican policies better. It’s going to be close. And I’m in a house divided, my sweetie went the other way. He’s straight Republican but he voted for Harris.”

Rowan Allen (62) and Arlene Allen (64)

Photograph: Ben Rollins/The Guardian

Rowan: “Make America safe again. Make America whole again. Her values are more aligned with mine. Somebody with moral standards and ethics versus somebody who I see has none. The things she’s fighting for – the right to choose, the promotion of the middle class, making everybody pay their fair share – those are things that I value and that’s what draws me to her. You need some way of unifying the country at this point, and someone who’s not going to bring turmoil and what we had those four years. It was just chaos.”

Arlene: “Most importantly, she’s fighting for the Black, poor people. Women’s rights. Those are the two most important things for me. And healthcare. Trump is a racist, and I believe that the majority of people who follow Trump are racists. Have you seen Trump say anything positive about anyone who has run for this election or the election before? There’s always something to degrade the person who is running against him. If he loses, he’s going to say he won. He’s starting to set that up with the things he’s saying right now.”

Stephen Super (22)

Photograph: Elinor Kry/The Guardian

“He’ll close the border, keep taxes down. I knew from the start [who I’d for vote for]. I could see it in my everyday life. How much I pay for food. How much, like, the beef has gone up, that’s one of the main things I buy at the grocery store. I’ve been seeing it in my everyday life for the past three years now. Trump is strong. When you look at him he’s a strong person. I mean he takes action on what he does. The way he speaks, everything about him. I feel like he’s gonna stand up for our country and make it strong again.”

Alexis Deville (33)

Photograph: Kasia Stręk/The Guardian

“She’s shown herself to be a very educated woman and has an immaculate résumé. How could I vote for anybody else? Of course abortion is important – being a healthcare worker myself, knowing that it’s very important to be able to help our patients. As much as I’m hoping we’re going to have our first woman president, I’m not sure how it will go. But I’m hoping that America pulls together and tries something new. I’m a little anxious, I’m not going to lie. At the end of the day, this is a democracy and I’d like to keep it that way.”