Choosing sides in 2016

Shawano County voters were enamored with Ronald Reagan, later rallied around Bill Clinton, then stood with George W. Bush, and finally helped Barack Obama make history.

So which way will Shawano County swing in the wild 2016 presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump?

Not even veteran political insiders are sure what to expect when the votes are counted Nov. 8.

Like much of the rest of the country, Shawano County voters are sharply divided over the two candidates who have engaged in the current bruising campaign for the White House.

Many people are lining up behind Trump because of the Republican nominee’s persona as an anti-politician who eschews political correctness and talks straight on the issues.

“He says it how it is,” said supporter Jon Richards of Shawano.

Richards admits that he has not always turned out to participate at election time in the past. But after attending a Trump campaign rally, he is sold on the New York businessman-turned-candidate.

“I believe him,” Richards said. “I really believe him.”

On the other side of the great divide, other Shawano County residents are backing Clinton for her progressive ideas and her credentials as a former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state.

Tom Sturm, of Shawano, said he feels confident that Clinton would do well in world affairs and would focus on domestic issues important to him, such as education and health care.

In contrast, Sturm said he views Trump as a “bizarre” character who is unqualified to become commander-in-chief.

“She’s got the experience and the background,” Sturm said of Clinton. “You get to Washington, you kind of need to know how things work.”

Although Shawano County traditionally is regarded as Republican territory, recent history shows that voters here exhibit a bit of an independent streak when it comes to choosing presidents. In addition to voting for Republicans like Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, Shawano County also propelled Democrat Bill Clinton to re-election in 1996 and helped to make Democrat Barack Obama the nation’s first black president in 2008.

Whether the county’s estimated 23,500 registered voters will go Republican or Democratic in 2016 is anybody’s guess.

Craig Carlson, chairman of the Shawano County Republican Party, said he senses that voters are uniting behind Trump and that they are willing to set aside what Carlson regards as “distractions” involving the Republican candidate’s character issues when it comes to women and minorities.

Still, with some national Republican leaders disavowing Trump, Carlson admitted feeling uncertain about what will happen on Election Day.

“This is a strange political season,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve seen anything like it.”

Jan Koch, chairwoman of the county Democratic Party, pointed to encouraging signs that Clinton has built up a following in Shawano County, including yard signs and crowd turnout at party functions. Koch said many voters still seem undecided, however, and she suspects that some will not make a final decision until they have the ballot in front of them on Nov. 8.

“There are a lot of independents,” she said, “and they have an open mind.”

Among those who have already made up their minds, the Clinton-Trump contest is stirring strong feelings in some parts of Shawano County.

Clinton supporter Carrie Pitt, of Bonduel, was disappointed when she returned home recently to find that someone had defaced her Clinton yard sign by spray-painting it with a red circle and slash mark indicating opposition to the Democratic nominee.

Saying she suspects a Trump supporter was responsible for the trespassing and vandalism, Pitt said she wishes people would be more tolerant of one another’s divergent viewpoints on politics.

“I felt disappointed and disrespected,” she said.

Bill and Sandi Smith, of Shawano, have erected a handmade sign in their front yard declaring their support for Trump. They have found random trash discarded in their yard, although they are unsure whether the perpetrators of the littering were trying to deliver a political message.

Sandi Smith said she generally votes Democratic, but she is distrustful of Clinton and she has bad memories of Bill Clinton’s two-term presidency in the 1990s.

“Who wants Round Two of Clinton? Oh, my gosh,” she said.

Just as committed is Lana Prickette, of Shawano, who proudly displays her support for Clinton and cannot imagine Trump in the White House. Clinton is correct on important issues related to poverty, children and women’s rights, Prickette said, adding emphatically that Trump exhibits none of the qualities needed in a president.

“There’s no comparison,” she said. “Trump is not a choice.”