Voters will head to the polls for Super Tuesday. The candidates are trying to win over voters with everything from town hall meetings to kissing babies. But besides from experience, what are voters looking for?
I asked people point blank: which of the presidential hopefuls would you have a coffee or beer with? It’s not a frivolous question—it could be the key to the oval office. People had a bunch of different responses.
“I think Bernie is the most intriguing and has the most different view for a change.”
“I’d want to talk to Hilary Clinton, she’s the most interesting to me. I think she’s the most qualified but I’d like to ask her some questions, so it would be fun to sit down with her.”
“I don’t think you should want to get a cup of coffee with your president, that’s not their job.”
Christopher McCarthy-Latimer, Chair of the Political Science department at Framingham State University says it’s a candidate’s job to make you like them. That’s especially important here in Massachusetts where the latest poll numbers show democratic candidates Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders essentially neck and neck.
“Most young people, and there’s been a huge split of young people between young people going to for Bernie sanders as opposed to Hilary Clinton, and I think if you asked them who would they rather have a beer or coffee with they would say Bernie Sanders. Hilary Clinton doesn’t seem to have the connection with young people and she seems more stern and less personable," says McCarthy-Latimer.
Meanwhile, polls show GOP front runner Donald Trump with a comfortable lead in the state. McCarthy-Latimer says there’s a reason for that.
“When you’re talking about Donald trump, I think similar to Bernie Sanders he’s really sort of honing in on something where voters are sick of the establishment and they are more likely to have a beer of coffee with him—because he speaks his mind whether you agree with him or not. I think its going to bring Trump through primary caucus season.”
Issues like national security, unemployment, resolving student loan debts are big topics amongst voters, but so is finding a connection. “I think it actually does tell something," says McCarthy-Latimer.
McCarthy-Latimer says the so-called "friendly factor" pushed George W Bush to the white house. “Al Gore seemed like a robot, as opposed to George W Bush who didn’t, and who you would maybe want to have a beer with."
The truth is when you head to the polls it may just be the person you think of as a friend who gets your vote.
But voter Jack Tragakis says even your friends don’t always deserve your support.
“I would love to have a beer with Bernie sanders just because he seems like a reasonable down-to-earth person. I actually will not be voting because I feel like I shouldn’t be voting for any of the candidates right now.”
In other words, sometimes it’s ok to drink alone.
