US campaign ends as it began, with voters focused on immigration, abortion

By Tim Reid, Helen Coster, Alexandra Ulmer and Brad Brooks

(Reuters) – After months of campaigning, Tuesday's presidential election may have come down to the two signature issues that defined Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump from the start: abortion rights and immigration.

In more than 65 interviews in recent days, voters returned to those themes in explaining their choice for president. For many, personal experiences – as a parent, neighbor or friend – shaped their views on what was the most important.

While the sample was too small to base any hard conclusions, it provides a snapshot of how Americans may have been thinking in the final days of the campaign.

For Trump backers, the need to stem illegal immigration – a core theme of his presidency – was the No. 1 reason for voting Republican, according to those interviewed. Economic concerns and high inflation were often mentioned as other issues that motivated Trump's supporters, even though the U.S. economy continues to grow and the jobless rate remains low.

"I know a lot of people that have personally struggled under the Biden administration," said Justin Newhouse, 23, a self-described conservative from Milwaukee.

For many Harris backers, her vow to protect abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 ruling that recognized a constitutional right to the procedure was the most compelling reason to vote for the Democratic vice president. The perception that Trump, who has frequently made racist and offensive remarks, was a racist was often top of mind as well.

The interviews were conducted in the battleground states where the campaign is expected to be won or lost: Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin. Here is a taste of what voters had to say about their choice:

Heather Thomas, a 49-year-old convenience store worker near the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, said the key issue behind her vote for Trump was illegal immigration and what she described as the economic and societal devastation it had brought.

"The open border means the end of our country," Thomas said. "And with Biden and the other Democrats, the borders have been crazy, just wide open."

Thomas, who makes $13 an hour, said she believed that Democrats have done little about illegal immigration, even though the Biden administration has taken steps to curb border crossings.

"How is the country supposed to take care of millions of illegal people coming here when we are not even taking care of so many Americans who are out there living on the streets, who are struggling to eat?" Thomas asked.

Thomas said in her daily interactions with poor and homeless people at her store she has seen much suffering.

Myesha Parks, who works as a dental hygienist in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, backed Harris primarily because of the candidate's position on abortion, and because she "was never a fan of Trump."

Parks is a 27-year-old practicing Baptist who grew up opposed to abortion. But her views began to shift after two friends were raped. "If that ever happened to me, I don't think I'd be strong enough to carry a child on my own," she said.

Parks believes Harris, as a woman, is more suited to address an issue such as abortion: "Men shouldn't be allowed to tell women what to do with their bodies."

'I WANT A WALL'

Judy Boyce, a retired flight attendant from Marietta, Georgia, voted for Trump, as she did in 2016 and 2020, citing border security and the economy. She sees the issues as linked.

"We are funding so much for illegal aliens. I'm being politically incorrect, but that's what they are, they are not Americans," she said. Boyce, 79, said that money should instead go to U.S. citizens.

"I want a wall and I want illegal immigration down to zero. I want this economy back to when Donald Trump was president."

'MY OWN BODY'

Sarah Weigel, a 46-year-old event coordinator from the rural town of Franklin, Pennsylvania, says she is not very engaged politically, but she will cast a ballot this year for Harris to protect abortion rights.

She said the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in 2022 overturning the Roe v. Wade decision that protected abortion rights, pushed her to vote.

"For me, it's, I guess, being able to make a choice of what I want to do with my own body," Weigel said. "So if a woman wanted to get an abortion or not she should have that right to make that decision on her own."

'TREASON'

Terry Balko, a part-time charitable fundraiser from Marietta, Georgia, voted early for Donald Trump, his choice in the previous two elections.

Over breakfast in a café close to his home, Balko said he wanted "less inflation, a safer country" and to deport illegal immigrants.

Balko got animated when discussing the issue, citing the case of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old student who was murdered in February, a case that Trump often refers to in his campaign speeches. The suspect, a Venezuelan in the U.S. illegally, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges.

"Biden and Harris are totally derelict in protecting our citizens," Balko said. "They should be bought up on a charge of treason."

Stephanie Lopez Gilmore, 39, who works at a wellness and mental health center in Detroit, said she was voting for Harris to protect women's reproductive rights. She also looks forward to having a woman of color in the Oval Office.

"Being a woman of color myself, it's very inspiring to see someone that looks like you and that has maybe some of the same

interests as you that will be leading the country," she said.

Lopez Gilmore, who has both Latina and Black ancestry, said

she feared a Trump victory would lead to an increase in the

discrimination she routinely experiences.

Noel Soto, a 32-year-old truck driver originally from Mexico, said he cast his first ballot as a U.S. citizen for Harris with one clear goal: Taking a stand against racism.

"I don't like Trump's side because of its racism. I did it for my Mexican family," Soto said in Spanish at a Phoenix rodeo organized by Democrats to get out the Latino vote.

Soto said he was concerned by what he felt was more racism around him, especially from Trump supporters. He recounted an episode in which he said a Trump supporter asked him while he was trick-or-treating for Halloween whether he was dressed as "a Latino immigrant." Soto had dressed as a farmer to pair with his one-year-old son, who went as a cow.

(Reporting by Tim Reid in Georgia, Helen Coster and Stephanie Kelly in North Carolina, Alexandra Ulmer in Arizona, Brad Brooks in Nevada, Nathan Layne and Andrea Shalal in Michigan, Gram Slattery in Pennsylvania and Ardee Napolitano in Wisconsin; Writing by Frank McGurty, editing by Deepa Babington)