CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Montgomery County came out strong for President Donald Trump, supporting him with over 55% of the vote.

“I believe he is the right man for the job. He has done everything he promised, and most presidents don’t really do that. Why mess up something up when you have people working?” said Rodger Mooney, 54, voting at Montgomery Central Middle School.

“All the stuff we have gone through with COVID and stuff like that has made a big difference. We just need to keep this Trump thing going,” said Ronnie Perry, a 58-year-old business owner.

“I believe that the other party is probably going to try to establish a lot more socialism in our way of life, and that’s just not OK,” said Charlie Shaw, a 26-year-old helicopter mechanic.

Ron Dimure, 66, a professional musician, said he voted for Trump because of his “unsurpassed” work on the economy.

“He’s the only guy who had done everything for everybody. I worked with the police in New York in regards to human trafficking.”

Election history

Montgomery County hasn’t gone with a Democratic presidential candidate since 1996, when the county supported Bill Clinton over Bob Dole.

  • 1996: Bill Clinton, D, over Bob Dole, R
  • 2000: George W. Bush, R, over Al Gore, D
  • 2004: George W. Bush, R, over John Kerry, D
  • 2008: John McCain, R, over Barack Obama, D
  • 2012: Mitt Romney, R, over Barack Obama, D
  • 2016: Donald Trump, R, over Hillary Clinton, D

Biden supporters

At East Montgomery Elementary School, Jennifer Barlow, 38, a nurse at Tennova Healthcare, said she could talk about her support for Biden all day.

“I’ve been following the Trump presidency since the beginning and I think Biden is just the clear choice. The past week, I’ve tried not to think about (the election) because the thought of Biden not winning is terrifying to me,” Barlow said.

Sean Noble said he voted for Biden and all the Democratic candidates.

“Mostly it was just looking at candidates that I felt really stuck with their beliefs, (although) in a couple of cases it was just incumbents who I don’t think are doing a great job and I voted against them because I wanted to see another candidate in their place.”

Ashley Burt voted for Libertarian candidate Joe Jorgenson.

“Out of all of the candidates, her beliefs and what she has proposed to do is most in line with where I stand on the political spectrum. To me, between Biden and Trump, it was a lesser of two evils and I would just rather try to break the two-party system and see what happens.”

Issues that mattered

Voters at Oakland Elementary School, who stood in some of the longest lines reported in Montgomery County, mostly stood behind Trump.

Jeff Vanderyt, 48, and a veteran who stood in line at Oakland Elementary School for nearly three hours, laid out some of the most important issues to our retired service-members.

“Gun control for a vet is always huge. That, healthcare, and probably immigration are my top three,” Vanderyt said.

Socialized healthcare also seemed to be of concern to North Clarksville voters. Jesse Whisnant, 29, said that women’s health mattered to him particularly.

“Women’s health, reproductive health, versus what it actually is, and trying to socialize something that I don’t believe in, those are the two key highlights. I was going to vote for Trump regardless,” he said.

A first time voter, Jorah Graham, who is a full time student and 19, also stood in the long lines at Oakland Elementary School to make her voice heard.

“Welfare is the most important to me,” Graham told Clarksville Now.

Heather Paschall, 40, who voted at Byrns Darden, said her pro-life stance dictated her ballot, not her identity.

“I’m gay, and I still voted for Trump,” Paschall said.

Divided household

Jerl Dion Richardson and his wife Beatrice Richardson are a divided household.

“I voted for Trump,” Jerl Dion Richardson said. “I like Trump because I feel like he stands for what he means, and when you mean what you say and say what you mean, that’s the type of person I am.”

“I voted for Biden,” Beatrice Richardson said. “I feel he actually cares about the policies that matter to me more than Trump does, and I think he’ll make a bigger and better difference.”

On living in a divided household, Mr. Richardson said, “When you deal with a bunch of politics and you kind of read between the lines, you see a little difference in my household, but we don’t argue about it because we feel like my opinion is my opinion and her opinion is her opinion.”

MORE: Complete election results from Montgomery County

Keely Quinlan, Jariel Jimenez and Chris Smith contributed to this report.