Voters’ Voices: Hayward residents tell us who they’re voting for and why

HAYWARD, Wisc. (Northern News Now) - All the time, we hear lawmakers and "experts" tell us what issues they think are most important to Americans. Enough of that.

We want to hear directly from Nothlanders about what's driving your vote and which candidates you support.

In part one of Dan Wolfe's Voters' Voices series, he traveled to the heart of Northwest Wisconsin to learn what matters most to folks in that part of America's ultimate swing state.

He started at the Moccasin Bar, where according to patrons, the biggest problem facing America is immigration.

"It's an unencumbered invasion from all corners," said Hayward resident Michael Kosmach.

Kosmach spent his career working in aerospace in Chicago before settling down in Hayward. When it comes to the election, his mind's made up.

"Once I saw how Trump ran things, hello, huge fan," said Kosmach. "Our country is not safe right now because of immigration, because of Joe Biden's lack of leadership on the international stage."

Across the bar, Vietnam Veteran Mark Preimesberger will also back Trump, mostly because of the former President's border policies.

"It was partly instilled in me when I was in the service that the U.S. is a place to earn your citizenship, you're not given it," said Preimesberger. "Let's earn it."

At another nearby bar stool was Don Weiss, who's been voting red and drinking at the Mocassin since the 70′s. He feels a certain kinship to Trump.

"He's a businessman, which I was before I retired, so I relate to that, and he runs things as a business, which I like," said Weiss."I won't vote for Harris."

"What specifically about her do you find unappealing as a voter?" asked Wolfe.

"Do any of us know what she stands for?" asked Weiss.

Down the street, a bit more progressive viewpoint from Margie Leese.

"I think a woman has the right to do with her own body and what she must do with it if she becomes pregnant," said Sawyer County resident Margie Leese.

So you might be surprised to hear who she's voting for.

"Trump," said Leese."

"Why Trump over harris?" asked Wolfe. "I think Harris is an idiot. I don't believe in anything she stands for except women's rights. I don't think she's ready," said Leese.

Like almost everyone at the Moccasin, Leese lists immigration as her number one issue.

"Too many coming in that aren't accounted for," said Leese.

However, for the one staunch Democrat we found in the heart of Hayward, what's happening here is far more important than at the southern border.

"People struggle in these rural areas and its the Democratic party that has really been the most help to us," said Rick St. Germaine.

St. Germaine is a longtime Lac Courte Oreilles tribal leader and teacher. He says Harris and Walz are the candidates who will help the people who need it most.

"They're both products of middle class people, they've had the experiences of people who have struggled in life and need that extra nudge," said St. Germaine.

St. Germaine's disapproval of Trump might put him in the minority on this day in downtown Hayward, but everyone we spoke with agrees that this election will be a pivotal one for rural Northland communities.