Wis. voters speak their minds about presidential candidates

MADISON — Mark Treichel understands that young people like him are excited about Democrat Barack Obama and his promises to bring change to the political status quo.

But the 23-year-old Milwaukee man is still voting for John McCain.

Sandra Herian, a 29-year-old health care worker, really wanted Hillary Rodham Clinton to win the Democratic primary. And while she intends to vote for Obama, she won’t be heartbroken if he loses.

Angela Modra said that things have gotten so bad under President Bush that she doesn’t really care who wins.

All across Wisconsin, as the long days of summer start to shorten and the presidential race slowly comes into focus, voters are looking ahead to the fall and figuring out who they will support.

Both campaigns are once again focusing on the key Upper Midwest state, pouring millions into television advertising and making stops to win over voters. Wisconsin is seen as winnable by both sides because Democrats Al Gore and John Kerry barely carried it the past two elections.

Over one week in late July The Associated Press traveled the state talking to voters encountered at random in five cities.

All but one of the 19 people interviewed said they intend to vote. Twelve say they are for Obama, while four are for McCain. Two were undecided.

But the race is definitely on people’s minds.

People like Tim Dietzman.

A member of the Wisconsin National Guard, the 28-year-old Dietzman served a year in Afghanistan and is preparing to be shipped out to Iraq in January. He’s for Obama because he’s promised to bring U.S. troops out of Iraq within 16 months of being elected.

“I want Obama just so he doesn’t leave,” said Dietzman’s girlfriend, 21-year-old Crystal Crotteau of Fort Atkinson. “The only issue that hit home is the war because of him.”

The war was mentioned frequently as one of the top issues by those interviewed. They also talked about gas prices and reforming health care. They talked about Obama’s inexperience and McCain’s age. They are worried about the economy.

And they talked about change.

That great undefinable promise is a major part of Obama’s campaign, and it appears to be having an impact on voters.

“They say he’s going to make change,” said Larry Ervin, a 42-year-old Obama supporter in Milwaukee. “I can dig that.”

Ervin, a mail office assistant for a Milwaukee health care company, said he’s most worried about gas prices. But he’s also concerned about bringing an end to the Iraq war and finding a way to bring more jobs to the state.

Those same issues — gas prices and changing the political culture in Washington — are what attract Milwaukee bank underwriter D.J. Hecht to Obama.

“If he doesn’t shake it up, what’s going to happen in the next election?” the 56-year-old asked. “Everyone’s going to say, ’Same old, same old.”’

Obama is running strong in Wisconsin. Three polls done in June and July showed him with a consistent double-digit lead, even as McCain was gaining on Obama in other similar battleground states.

McCain is calling himself the underdog in Wisconsin. During a recent campaign stop in Racine, he admitted to having to play catch-up to Obama in the state. But McCain said he still believes Wisconsin will be one of the closest on election night.

There are some voters McCain can go after.

People like Modra, a 27-year-old who voted for Bush in 2000 but not in 2004. She’s ambivalent about who wins.

“I would be OK with either one getting into office,” Modra said while enjoying a beer outside the University of Wisconsin-Madison student union with her friend Herian, the Clinton backer who’s going to vote for Obama.

Also undecided is Dale Buettner. His brother Steve is voting for Obama. Both men, sporting Green Bay Packers hats, attended one of the team’s first days of training camp together.

“I think we just need a change,” said Steve Buettner, 46, of Shawano. His brother hasn’t made up his mind.

“I’ve really been flip flopping back and forth,” said the 63-year-old from De Pere. He said he’s not optimistic he will make up his mind until a day or two before the election.

Those who support McCain weren’t as enthusiastic as many of the Obama backers.

“I’m not as fired up about him as other candidates,” said lifelong Republican Jim Rasmussen, a 60-year-old salesman in Eau Claire. “It’s more that I don’t like the Democrats.”

Bob Motz, 60, and Noel Bushor, 39, both of Merrill said they likely will vote for McCain mainly because they are Republicans and can’t imagine voting for a Democrat. Both men were among hundreds in line for a Monday night game of the Wisconsin Woodchucks, an independent baseball team that plays in Wausau.

Even though both said they were going to vote for McCain, they also said they wanted to see both candidates go head to head to show how they differ on the issues.

“I still don’t know who’s for what,” Bushor said.

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Wis. voters speak their minds about presidential candidates

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