CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Voters in Montgomery County kept the polls going smooth and steady all day Thursday, ahead of the possible end-of-work rush before polls close at 7 p.m.

Things have been going well, Administrator of Elections Amanda Joslin said at about 4 p.m. “Lines have been steady, nothing super heavy at all.”

On the ballot are City Council races, state House and state Senate races and Congressional races, but the race on everyone’s mind has been the presidential election, between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Wilma Rudolph Event Center Election Day, Nov. 5 2024. (Wesley Irvin)

Trump voters: ‘He’s a good leader’

At Woodlawn Elementary School, Raquel Hunter said she voted for Trump. “I like that he is against abortion and this ‘new style’ life. He’s a good leader.”

Another Woodlawn voter, Toni Merren, also said she voted for Trump. “Things were a little crazy when he was president, but things were good. I didn’t feel very confident in Kamala Harris. I’m hoping there will be certain things that we will see again like when he was president. We had lower interest rates, and some of those things were great.”

At the Wilma Rudolph Event Center, Donna Smith, 53, said she voted for Trump and his vice presidential candidate, J.D. Vance. “I grew up a Republican, and I’m military myself. My dad’s former military too. They support the military, and everything was just better when he was president. Now, it’s not so good.”

“I voted for Mr. Trump,” said Eun Koung Hun. “To give you the reason, I didn’t have much of a choice. … We really didn’t have enough choices.” Hun said she felt Trump was the better choice of the two.

MORE: Early voting turnout finishes 1.8% higher than 2020 in Montgomery County, 39.3% above 2016

Harris voters: ‘Obvious, logical choice’

At Northwest High School, Fallon Bechtel, a social worker, said she voted for Harris. “Our country, I feel like, doesn’t look the same as it did 10, 20, 30 years ago. I feel like we’re on the precipice of something big and it’s a little scary. We’re seeing a lot of threats to democracy and threats to the election system and a lot of us feel that pressure. But I also feel like it’s never been more important to get involved and familiarize yourself with the candidates.

“In this case, I feel like Kamala Harris is the obvious, logical choice,” Bechtel said. “You have this one presidential candidate, her, that’s got all this experience, she was in all these different branches of the government and she’s the sitting vice president currently; she’s been an attorney general, she’s got lots of experience and compassion and tenacity, and she’s gone toe to toe with drug cartels.”

Also at Wilma Rudolph, Tiffany Kiser said she voted Harris. “I really just agree with everything she’s put forward. Let’s move forward and not look back.”

Katie Gregory also voted for Harris. “I believe that women should have reproductive freedoms in our country; I think that the economic plan is much better than Donald Trump’s. And I truly believe that there are some medical issues and competency issues with Trump that I have concerns about being able to uphold the duties of the office of the president.”

Sara Turkow said she reluctantly voted for Harris. “She’s the less of the crappiest of the two. I haven’t voted since 2008, and this year seemed to be more important. No offense, but I don’t want Trump. … I would have rather voted for Robert Kennedy Jr., but he wasn’t on the list.”

Jordan Renfro, Christian Brown and Chris Smith contributed to this report. 

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