Hillary Clinton is said to be contemplating another presidential run in 2020. But young women, who were a majority of her voters in 2016, are not sure if they will support her.

“She will lose again,” said Mia Flanagan, 18, who said that she had seen the news about the potential run on Twitter and had hoped it was fake. “She will obviously lose again.”  

If Clinton does decide to run, 2020 would be her third presidential bid. In 2008, she campaigned against Barack Obama, losing in the primaries. In 2016, she lost in the general election to Donald Trump, despite winning the popular vote, following a campaign marred by scandals.

Many of the women spoken to said that they thought a stronger Democratic candidate would be needed in the 2020 election. It is expected that President Donald Trump will run for re-election in 2020, especially following a pledge of support from the Republican National Committee. As of now, there are no other obvious Republican candidates.

“It’ll be the same chase [as 2016] again, where we had decent candidates up against Hillary,” said Rosa Miranda, 21. “She came through – and she was not my favorite – and she came up against Trump, and Trump got her. I’d rather her not run.”

There was also a concern that Clinton would have enough support to win the primary, against candidates such as Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Elizabeth Warren, but that she would again lose in the general election.

“I think if Hillary runs again, none of those other Democrats are going to be able to stand a chance,” said Miranda. “I don’t know why she keeps winning [primaries], but she’s going to, and then the Republicans are going to win again.”

Flanagan thought the opposite – that Clinton would lose in the primaries, leaving the field wide-open for another Democratic candidate.

“She’ll lose again,” said Flanagan. “Judging by her opponents in the first election and the way that all went down, it doesn’t look good for her, especially with everyone else running.”

Despite her reservations about Clinton, Flanagan was also hesitant to support any other Democratic candidate, as was her friend Maddie Janz, 18.

“I’ve heard some weird stuff about [Kamala Harris],” said Flanagan. “When she first came out about her candidacy I was like ‘Oh, this is great.’ And then I was like ‘Oh, her policies…’” Harris has caught some pushback for her record as a prosecutor, with some saying that her history doesn’t match her persona as a progressive candidate.

Janz hoped that others, including Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden, who are expected to announce 2020 campaigns, wouldn’t run.

“That’s not happening,” said Janz, about the possibility of Biden running. “I won’t allow it. Please don’t.”

While they were hesitant about the other candidates, both Flanagan and Janz said that they would rather support them than Clinton.

“I just can’t believe that she’s willing to put herself through that again,” said Janz. “I don’t think she should run.”

Ramirez agreed. “I would rather her not run.”

The post Not a lot of youthful excitement for a redo of Clinton for president appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

In the small town of Belfast, New York, population 1,600, Jim and Mary Mountain have become outcasts in recent weeks, shunned by their neighbors. Their sin: they are the only residents with a “Hillary” sign on their front lawn.

“We are kind of the exception to the rule,” chuckled Mary, 80, a retired postmaster and a lifelong resident of the town. “My daughter’s friend drove all the way from Rochester to Friendship and the only Hilary sign she saw was on our lawn.”

The Mountains live right along the major road in the area, Route 19, so if you need to get anywhere in the county, chances are you will pass by their yard.

Her husband Jim, now 82 and also retired, worked for Dresser-Rand, an industrial equipment supplier, and served on the Belfast Town Board. In his 12 years of service, he was the only Democrat.

Belfast is located in Allegany County, the third poorest county in the State. The county’s population is around 47,000 people, and its per capita income is $20,000 a year. Though economically poor, Allegany is rich with rolling hills, dairy farms, and pick-up trucks. According to the New York State Board of Elections, there are twice as many registered Republicans than Democrats in Allegany County.

So why do the Mountains vote left in a region that is a predominantly conservative? Jim says that he believes the Democrats are “for the poor guys, they are the first ones to help out the small guy.” He continued, “I don’t believe in giving everything to the rich, I’ve always been a Democrat for that reason.”

Mary said that she doesn’t understand why a lot of people don’t trust Hillary. “I think she’s a good person and they have given her a lot of trouble to get to where she is today.”

The Mountains, who are elderly and rely on many medications, fear that if Trump gets elected he will abolish Social Security and Medicare. “Those are good programs,” said Jim. “It would kill us if we didn’t have the Medicare. It would take everything else we got, it’s a big help.”

Their neighbors have not reacted well to the couple’s Hillary sign. “Yeah, they holler at us,” said Jim, who seemed to brush it off easily. However, Mary has experienced more severe taunts. One day she was out retrieving her mail at the end of their gravel driveway when a driver in a big truck yelled “F–K YOU!” at her. “I’m surprised someone hasn’t shot bullets through it yet,” said Mary of the sign.

The Mountain’s sign has certainly caused a stir in the area.

“I don’t know them, but I think it’s stupid to vote for Hillary,” said neighbor Anne Chamberlain,30 a stay-at-home mother and a registered Republican. “She scares me and I don’t have a good feeling about her. She reminds me of Hitler.” said Chamberlain.

Asked why she plans to vote for Trump, Chamberlain responded, “I guess he is the less of two evils.”

Darlene Redance, 34, another neighbor, is aware of the Hillary sign and does not approve.

“I don’t like it, I just don’t want Hillary as president. I don’t like her, she should be in jail,” said Redance, “I think Trump will bring this world where it needs to be.” She does not understand why the Mountains approve of Hillary, adding, “I’m confused about that one, doesn’t make any sense to me.”

A little bit further north along Route 19 lives Chuck Babbitt, a crop and dairy farmer. Babbitt, 63, is very enthusiastic about the GOP candidate and is baffled that his nearby neighbors don’t feel the same way.

“I think everybody ought to be voting for Trump,” said Babbitt. “I’m voting of Trump because I don’t want Hillary.”

Babbitt believes that Hillary would be just the same as President Obama.

“Obama doubled the debt in his term, where was the change we were supposed to be believe in?” said Babbitt. “I think he has been one of the worst presidents ever.”

Chamberlain, Redance, and Babbitt couldn’t exactly articulate reasons why they believe that Trump will help the residents of Allegany County and the country as a whole. Asked why Republican candidates are good for farmers and people in poorer counties, Babbitt replied “I don’t know about that one, I haven’t thought about it.” Chamberlain said that Trump wants to bring back the “Old America.” But what does that look like? “Basically before Obama” said Chamberlain.

Being a Democrat in a small town is like showing up to an Adidas PR Party decked out in Nike apparel. The Mountains are surrounded by people who may never see this side of the coin.

Residents of rural areas tend to vote Republican, a perpetual reflection of the urban-rural divide in politics. According to a an NBC/ Wall Street Journal poll, Trump leads Hillary 64% to 27% in rural areas across the states. Trump particularly does well among older, white Americans. Considering both Jim and Mary are in their 80s and white, they are defeating yet another stereotype.

Just as the Republicans in the town can’t wrap their heads around how the Mountains can vote for Hillary, the Mountains can’t wrap their heads around how their neighbors can be for Trump. “I have no idea why people are voting for him in this community” laughed Mary. “Maybe it’s because he has driven into people’s heads that Hillary is evil.”

Even though Jim is used to being outnumbered by his conservative neighbors (He and Mary both voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012), he is surprised by the large number of Trump signs he sees in his neighborhood.

“I don’t understand how there are so many. He has said so many things that are just off the cuff, not things that you would want to hear from a future president,” said Jim.

“Anybody that could vote for Trump could vote for that dog right there,” said Jim pointing to their dog, Milly. His wife interjected quickly, “Milly probably wouldn’t vote for him either!”

The post Election 2016: Small Town Rebels appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

The post Another nasty presidential debate appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

The post Twitter creates presidential debate comedy appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

This story was written by Eugene Y. Santos and reported by Taisha Henry, Alexandra Zuccaro, Karis Rogerson and Eugene Y. Santos.

New Yorkers came out for the home team yesterday, launching Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to big victories over their rivals.

Business tycoon and reality TV star Donald Trump trounced John Kasich and Ted Cruz with 60 percent of the votes. John Kasich was in second place at 25 percent and Ted Cruz, a very distant third, was sunk by his derogatory comments about “New York values,” which led to a series of blistering attacks throughout his NY campaign.

Hillary Clinton put an end to Bernie Sanders’s seven-state winning streak by beating the Vermont senator by double digits, 58 percent to Sanders’ 42 percent. Although Sanders was born in New York and held large public events in the state, Clinton served the state as senator and lives in Chappaqua, New York. Clinton has done well in states with large minority populations, while Sanders has been victorious in overwhelmingly white states.

At the polls yesterday, New Yorkers had a chance to be heard through their votes.

Julie Ferri, a Democrat who voted at the Ingersoll Community Center in Brooklyn, said she supports candidates that  advocate progressive thinking, and that was best illustrated by both Sanders and Clinton.

“I really like how the Democratic party is pushing immigration reforms, improvement of wages and education, LGBT freedom, women’s rights—pretty much everything,” said Ferri.

But voters Sharon Wexler and Ebony Hunter were more vocal about supporting Clinton.

“I voted for her because I think she’s super qualified,” said Wexler. “I like her platforms on improving education and economic development.”

“This might be the best year for her,” added Hunter. “I hope she gets ahead of everybody. She has the best interests for us at this time and I feel she’ll do a good job in helping stop war engagements, because right now, a lot of Americans are losing their family members [because of war conflicts] and it’s not getting any better from what I observed. I think if people give Hillary a shot at presidency, we’ll have a better chance in life.”

Ebony Hunter is excited about the possibility of seeing Hillary Clinton as the first female US president. She believes that Clinton has best interests for Americans. Photo by Alexandra Zuccaro.

Meanwhile, Republican voter Anthony Lopez understands that Trump’s statements often go too far, but he still cast his vote for Trump at the Times Square Hotel polling station.

“I know that presidents in general can’t do everything they say they are going to do, but in this case, I think what matters more is the general direction and leadership style that the future US president will pursue and take,” said Lopez. “That’s why I voted for Trump, for his leadership experience. It would be interesting to see what happens.”

Anthony Lopez believes that Donald Trump’s leadership skills can be good for the US. Photo by Taisha Henry.

Although for some, settling and managing corporate matters is an entirely different story from being president.

“Trump really reminds me of a spoiled 5-year-old, like when you see an undisciplined child who just blurts out what s/he wants to say without thinking about it,” said Kaye Copes, a nurse who lives in Harlem. “He’s into dividing people and I don’t like that. We (the US) have come so far that we don’t need to deal with that.”

At the end of the day, despite differing political beliefs and the voting irregularity in Brooklyn, a lot of New Yorkers share the same hope of seeing a wiser and more economically sound  country.

“I just hope that the next US president will be able to lessen the gap between the rich and the poor,” said Sonia Allen, a middle school director living in Harlem. “It might help if s/he will focus on youth empowerment and education. They (young Americans) are our future.”

Next stop for the candidates is yet another “Super Tuesday” on April 26, with more east coast states holding primaries. Those states, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island should continue the Trump and Clinton’s march to the nomination experts said.

The post Trump and Clinton take New York appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

“I’m very anxious and excited,” said Risa Levine, 52. “I even brought champagne to celebrate the announcement.”

Levine wore not only a pink t-shirt with Clinton’s likeness, but her jean jacket was sprinkled with Hillary buttons reading slogans like, “I’m a woman for Hillary” and “Hillary sent me”.

Levine of Manhattan was one of three supporters who stood patiently and excitedly snapping selfies. She was joined by Tim Dangora, 36, also of Manhattan. A tall man donning a Hillary baseball cap and patriotically colored, “Hillary for president” t-shirt he had just one simple statement to make.

“America deserves Hillary,” said Dangora.

According to a March 29th Pew Research Center Poll 59 percent of democrats say there is a “good chance” they will vote for Clinton.

While the Clinton opponents were not physically present, their message could be seen hung from stop lights and pasted randomly to public surfaces. An unknown group or individual placed anti-Clinton posters in the area surrounding One Pierrepoint Plaza early Sunday morning. The design included an unflattering greyscale portrait of Clinton surrounded by phrases such as “Don’t Say Entitled” “Don’t Say Secretive” and “Don’t Say Polarizing”.

Despite her star power Clinton remains a polarizing and sometimes controversial candidate and has been on the receiving end of criticism from politicians and citizens. Republicans were quick to lambaste Clinton after her official announcement calling her untrustworthy.

The post Brooklynites on Hilary Clinton for President appeared first on Pavement Pieces.