Little Rock voters cast ballots in Super Tuesday presidential primary

A sign at the Iglesia Bautista Nueva, 9400 Colonel Glenn Road, voting location in Little Rock.
A sign at the Iglesia Bautista Nueva, 9400 Colonel Glenn Road, voting location in Little Rock.

Though Little Rock voters streamed in and out of polling places Tuesday morning to cast their ballots for local, state and national races, many said their main focus was on the presidential primary.

Jillian Wilson said she voted for former Vice President Joe Biden not necessarily because he was her favorite candidate but because she thinks he will be able to beat President Donald Trump in the general election.

She preferred former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, she said, but with their exits from the race in the past two days, she turned her support to Biden.

“I really liked Buttigieg,” she said. “He is young, and he’s moderate, and I think he has energy.”

Angela Foy, 49, said she also decided to vote for Biden. She said she appreciated his experience as vice president and his work with President Barack Obama.

Foy said she has been “all for” Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont until he talked about getting rid of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

As a social worker with the Division of Child and Family Services, Foy said she sees many people with new or better coverage thanks to the Affordable Care Act.

Sanders instead supports Medicare for All, a stance that has attracted some voters including 25-year-old Macy Zimmerman.

She said she also voted for Sanders in the 2016 primary and wanted to “keep that ball rolling.”

“He’s been doing this for decades, and he’s kept pretty consistent over the decades,” Zimmerman said.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has yet to notch a primary win, but some voters including 39-year-old Jennifer Moody and 48-year-old Bryant Stanfield felt she was the right candidate Tuesday.

Moody said she waited until Tuesday to vote to ensure she cast her ballot for someone still in the race, and she felt Warren’s values best matched her own.

Stanfield said he likes Warren’s toughness despite attacks from Trump.

“And why not give a woman a shot?” Stanfield said.

Bozena Laska, a 66-year-old retiree, said she and her husband, 65-year-old Rafael Laski, were adamant of their support for Biden as they headed to the polls at the Highland Valley United Methodist Church around lunch time.

"He's got the best experience," Laska said.

"We trust him," her husband interjected.

At the same polling location a short while later, 61-year old Renee Pigg, a retired teacher, said she cast her ballot again for President Trump, after also supporting him in the 2016 GOP primary. She cited Trump's anti-abortion positions as well as the country's low jobless rate as reasons for supporting another term for the president.

"He's the man for this time in American history," Pigg said.

But Steve Beaudry, a 61-year-old retired Timex worker, said that the president had turned him away from voting in the GOP primary. Beaudry said he voted for Bloomberg because "Bernie and Elizabeth Warren are too socialist," and he wanted a Democratic nominee that he could support in November.

"I prefer to vote Republican, but I did not vote for Trump," in 2016, he said. "It just about killed me."

Esther Gordon, 64, said she wasn’t sure a female candidate could become president, so she said she voted for Biden even if he wasn't her favorite candidate. She said she hopes he can restore relationships with international allies and help the minimum wage keep pace with inflation.

Healthcare and social security are also important issues, she said, as a former employee of a hospital who left work after she became disabled.

She said she wants everyone to have access to care, but as for Medicare for All, isn’t sure everyone wants or needs it.

Susan Moore, 65, said she liked Buttigieg and Klobuchar as well but after their departures from the race, she voted for former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. She said she likes his stances on gun control and climate change and thinks he is capable of beating Trump in the general election.

“I just think Bloomberg seems sharper,” Moore said. “Biden seems a little doddering.”

Tyree Layne III, 58, declined to say who he voted for but said he is unhappy with the sole focus of many Democratic voters on just beating Trump.

He said he wants to keep the focus on what candidates will do for Americans.

“It isn’t all about Donald Trump,” Layne said. “It’s about the people.”

CORRECTION: Foy works with the Division of Child and Family Services. An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect name for her workplace.

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