Clinton Supporters in Trumptown
By Rae Ybanez, Fortesa Latifi, Devin Gooden and Catherine Joie
Scottsdale’s 85255 zip code is home to the most individual Trump campaign donations in the entire country. Although this Scottsdale neighborhood seems to be on the Trump train, voters seemed as divided here on Election Day as they are in the rest of the country.
Lila Kleinkopf, 74, voted for Hillary Clinton and says this is the first time she’s voted for a Democrat for president in her life.
“I have never voted for a Democrat at the top of the ticket until today. And I’ve voted since Mary Goldwater,” Kleinkopf said. Kleinkopf said she felt disappointed by the Republican candidate for president and that she favored Marco Rubio in the primaries. “I’m embarrassed by my party,” Kleinkopf said. “I don’t feel positively good about voting [for Clinton] but I think I made the best choice possible.” |
An Arizona Republic/Morrison/Cronkite News Poll conducted in October showed Hillary Clinton with a 5-point lead over Trump in Arizona. Arizona is a historically Republican state and hasn’t voted Democrat since 1996 when Mrs. Clinton’s husband, President Bill Clinton, was running for the White house.
Although the October poll put Clinton in the lead for the election, some Scottsdale residents don’t believe Arizona is in the position to be a swing state.
An Arizona Republic/Morrison/Cronkite News Poll conducted in October showed Hillary Clinton with a 5-point lead over Trump in Arizona. Arizona is a historically Republican state and hasn’t voted Democrat since 1996 when Mrs. Clinton’s husband, President Bill Clinton, was running for the White house.
Although the October poll put Clinton in the lead for the election, some Scottsdale residents don’t believe Arizona is in the position to be a swing state.
Scott Smith, believes Arizona being a swing state is “a fabrication of the of the left.”
“There is no way that Arizona is going to vote for Hillary Clinton for president today. I understand how politics and polling works,” Smith said. The 85255 zip code of Scottsdale contributed more in individual donations to the Trump campaign than any other zip code in the country. According to census data, there are 40,788 people living inside the 85255 zip code. The average income of residents is $169,355 which is three times the national average. Nearly 70% of residents hold Bachelor’s, Master’s or professional degrees. |
Lifelong Republican voter Lila Kleinklopf says she’s surprised her neighborhood donates to the Trump campaign more than any other in the country because “it’s so educated”. Kleinklopf says her neighbors are educated professionals and she’s surprised so many of them choose to support Donald Trump for president.
Scott Smith thinks 85255 is full of Republicans who are ready for change after eight years of a Democratic president. For Smith, a Clinton presidency would be more of the same from the Obama years.
“This neighbourhood represents a large consistency of Republican voters that re tired of the corruption of the Obama administration and what the Clinton administration would bring,” Smith said. “I think residents of this area support limited government and want the federal debt issue addressed.”
No matter what the results of the election are, voters in this neighborhood said they hope there isn’t any backlash from the losing side.
“This is how it works,” said one voter. “This is the game.”
Lila Kleinkopf hopes the country can heal after an intense election cycle.
“I think it will be very divisive for awhile. I think it’s going to be very bad,” Kleinkopf said. “But Hillary Clinton is very intelligent and politically savvy and I hope she can learn something from that and accomplish something in cooperation.”
“But,” Kleinkopf said, with a tired smile, “they are both very polarizing candidates.”
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