CAROLINE, NY – Tuesday is the New York presidential primary and voters are heading to the polls. Throughout the day, The Ithaca Voice talked with voters at a few different polling stations across the country.

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Republicans

From the people we talked to at the Brooktondale Fire Hall in Caroline, it seemed that Donald Trump wasn’t as popular as he was in Newfield. There wasn’t a single Trump supporter among those that we spoke to there.

The rest were evenly split between Ted Cruz and John Kasich.

For Cruz supporters, his faith and sense of ethics were the primary selling points.

Caroline resident Jerry Lovejoy explained his rationale for supporting Cruz simply: “He’s the only real conservative in the race.”

Lovejoy added that Cruz being a Christian and being willing to stand up for what he believes in in Washington were big factors in why he supported Cruz.

Meanwhile, John Kasich earned votes due to his level-headedness and experience in governing. Frank Proto, a former Tompkins County legislator, was among those appreciated Kasich’s moderate approach and direct experience.

Democrats

As in Newfield, support for Bernie Sanders was strong across multiple age groups.

Many of the Sanders supporters we spoke to said two of the primary messages of the Sanders’ campaign — reducing income inequality and breaking up the big banks — resonated with them. Honorable mentions went to topics like health care, energy policy and Sanders’ opposition to fracking.

For the two people we spoke to who supported Hillary, it wasn’t an obvious choice.

“I supported both of them throughout the primaries, but when push comes to shove, Hillary got my vote today,” said Caroline resident Rich Schoch.

Schoch said that Clinton’s foreign policy experience and ability to work across party lines were what pushed him toward that candidate.

Mary Weiss-Anderson was another who was torn but ultimately voted for Hillary. “I don’t think it’s Bernie’s time and I really don’t want a Republican in office… especially those that are running on the Republican ticket now,” she said.

Weiss-Anderson said that she disliked Clinton’s stances on hydro-fracking and her hardline stance on Israel. “I’m just gritting my teeth,” she said, adding that the fact that Clinton would be the first female president was also an important factor in her supporting Clinton.

(Featured photo: Kelley Minars on Flickr)

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