Election surprises: SLO County residents tell us how they feel about recent events in the 2024 presidential race 

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The 2024 presidential election abruptly achieved novel status within weeks, starting with the sluggish presidential debate, flaring with the failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, and hitting a crescendo with President Joe Biden vacating his nomination in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.

"President Biden could not have pulled this off better in terms of both avoiding any open confrontation among competing candidates through the Democratic primary to essentially endorse and build the support for the endorsement of Vice President Harris," Cal Poly political science professor Michael Latner said.

This year's presidential race is unique. It's the first one since 1976 where Americans won't see a candidate named Biden, Bush, or Clinton on the ballot come November. Overshadowed by questions about his mental fitness, 81-year-old President Biden is also the first Democratic incumbent who abandoned his reelection campaign since President Lyndon B. Johnson dropped out of the 1968 general election.

Even though assassination attempts are rare, Latner added that several other factors set the 2024 election cycle apart from its predecessors.

"President Biden sitting out the campaign would be the most extraordinary element of this campaign if it weren't for the fact that the Republican nominee is someone who incited an insurrection the last time they lost an election. I think that's actually entirely unprecedented," he said. "We've never had a president who attempted to violently overthrow the government, run and succeed, and be a party's nominee for another election."

Harris is poised to be the new Democratic nominee after an Associated Press survey showed that she secured the support of 3,359 Democratic state delegates—almost double the support from the required 1,976 delegates needed to win the nomination. Her potential rise to the top of the ticket sparked an argument among Republicans that Democrats sidestepped the democratic process by ignoring the primary election results

"That is complete nonsense from the perspective that millions of voters during the primaries supported the Biden-Harris ticket," Latner said. "Those delegates are now free to endorse who they want. Those are the rules."

While he called Harris's nomination a "strategic victory" for the Democratic Party, Latner wants both presidential candidates to focus on the issues Americans are most concerned about—immigration and the economy.

"Across the country, the level of inequality that we're experiencing is something that we haven't seen since the Gilded Age," Latner said. "When you look at the success of Donald Trump—his ability to speak in particular to disaffected white voters, and making some inroads with voters of color with regard to people's unease about their perspectives and their future—that is the function of the level of inequality we're experiencing as a country and as a society, and it needs to be dealt with."

We wanted to know what SLO County residents thought about the historic election we're living through, so we spread out across the county to ask people.

A humane approach

A supporter of the Democratic Party, Los Osos resident Julie Mittman felt the change in energy when Biden stepped down from the race.

"We were getting a little bit frightened about Biden and excited about Kamala," she said in downtown SLO. "We're excited to see what she can do, and I think she'll be a good fighter to fight Trump."

Tackling climate change and installing humane and safe immigration policies are issues close to Mittman's heart. She told New Times she grew up around immigrant workers who labored in her father's Central Valley orange groves.

"They can't get enough help right now," the 54-year-old said. "They can't get enough workers, which is weird right?"

A Republican until President Bill Clinton came to power in 1993, Mittman added that immigrants are vital to the economy.

"It's so important for our country to grow economically to have immigrants coming in," she said. "But I don't want this stigmatization and sending people back when they don't even go to their own country."

Mittman said she's worried about the impact of the election results even if her preferred candidate wins.

"Whoever wins, and hopefully it's Kamala, the fight over it again and the fake news ... if she wins, it's just going to be outrageous and suck up so much of our time," she said.

'A slowly sinking ship'

At 37, one SLO resident—who requested anonymity—has never voted in a presidential election.

"It doesn't matter, I'm in California," he said. "I don't vote in the presidential election because we vote Democrat no matter what. So whether I vote or not, it doesn't change how California votes as a whole."

Despite not participating in the voting process, he kept an eye on the shooting of Trump at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally and Biden's decision to drop out of the race.

"I hate Trump as much as the next guy, but I don't want to see the guy die," he said. "There is so much crazy shit going on all the time, I just went back to my life."

The SLO resident told New Times that he's not informed in any way on Harris's entry into the presidential race.

"I think, optically, Biden was a nightmare. I mean, we all saw it," he said. "The dude looked like he could barely stand."

An issue he's worried about? Global warming. But he's not relying on politicians for respite.

"No one's going to do anything about it—we never do anything about it," he said. "It feels like we're in a slowly sinking ship. Regardless of who's the captain of the ship, no one's actually changing anything."

Project 2025 anxieties

San Luis Obispo resident Rebecca Brogdon feels more secure now that Harris is the new Democratic presidential candidate.

"The last few weeks have been a combination of exhausting and freaky," she said. "I was just hearing from family and from articles; there was so much hesitancy because of [Biden's] age and his ability to run the country on that alone. Everybody was getting cold feet."

Brogdon, a Democratic Party supporter, wants the future president to protect women's rights and LGBTQ-plus rights and address climate change. She added that Project 2025—an initiative overseen by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation that includes a plan for the next Republican president to rebuild the executive branch—poses a threat to these issues.

"Project 2025 and that just completely gutting environmental agencies was a big factor for me," Brogden said. "Looking at that playbook 2025 and just seeing how much damage it was going to do and how far backwards it could be sending us was one of the concerning factors for me."

Trump has distanced himself from the 922-page Project 2025. According to ABC News reporting, the slew of Project 2025 recommendations include cutting federal money for research and investment in renewable energy, withdrawing the abortion pill mifepristone from the market, putting limits on social welfare programs and the use of food stamps, removing programs meant to alleviate housing discrimination, and doing away with the existing employment visa process in favor of a "merit-based immigration system."

Felt like a joke

Paso Robles resident Jasmine has never voted and isn't registered to vote.

The 26-year-old, who asked to be referred to by her first name, told New Times that at first she felt like this election was a joke between two old men who were "out of touch" with reality.

"I was very stressed out for sure, up until Kamala Harris opted in, and I feel like she might be like the saving that we need," she said. "But also, I'm not 100 percent with her yet."

Jasmine said she's registering to vote in this election after hearing about Project 2025, which scared her. She figured Harris is better than another four years of Trump.

She said there's a sense of empowerment in seeing a woman of color running.

"That's going to help her out, and that could be a motivator for someone who was unmotivated to vote like me," she said.

'A shift to reality'

A Creston resident, who works in agriculture and wished to remain anonymous, said the recent election events have convinced him even more to vote for Trump.

"We have not seen a candidate like Trump in a long, long time," he said.

To him, Trump has the "type of thinking" the country needs, and he sees only one candidate up for the job.

The issues most important to him are agriculture and government overreach, both of which he believes Trump understands and protects.

He explained that previous presidents tended to establish national monuments in their 11th hour of their term and how this affects the farmers in surrounding areas. Carrizo Plain, for example, became a national monument in 2001 and it impacted him directly.

Trump is more in touch with agriculture and understands the need for grazing land over establishing monuments, he said.

When Biden dropped out and Harris stepped up, he felt this was a Democratic game for the presidency. Events like that have "exposed how rigged" the election is.

"They need a Black woman for votes," he said. "It's very disappointing to see Democrats in power play their game and control the narrative."

Overall, he sees Trump as the candidate the county needs.

"Trump is a shift to reality," he said.

America's heritage

A Paso Robles resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said she is voting for Trump for the sake of America's heritage.

"I am voting for Trump to take back the territory," she said.

The events of the election have not only "solidified which way" she is voting, but have increased her awareness of how critical the 2024 election is and where the nation stands.

"The line has been drawn between light and dark, deception and truth," she said.

America has strayed further from its founded heritage in recent years, she said, and Trump is the candidate to bring back its original ideals.

"I will be praying for our nation and heritage," she said.

Despite national divisiveness, she said voters need to be more accepting and less argumentative about each other's political views. She added that public participation in this election cycle has been quiet.

"There's been an underlying silence," she said. "But there's still people of conviction."

A 'unifying' campaign

Two Paso Robles residents, who both wished to remain anonymous, said the events of the election have moved them from a saddened state to a more hopeful one in a time they called a "crucial period for Democrats."

"It's more hopeful for women," one said.

She referred to the Harris campaign song, Beyonce's "Freedom" and said, "It made me weep with joy to see such inclusivity."

When Biden was still in the running, she said they felt discouraged by the two candidate options, and it felt like the "same old, same old."

"Biden stepping down was the most selfless thing I have ever seen," she said.

The other said she would "vote blue no matter who," because of Democrats' policies, especially on women's issues.

"It's nice to have a woman running," she said. "It's unifying."

She said that while she can acknowledge no candidate is perfect for any side, she is choosing to lean in the direction of the Harris campaign.

America's not ready for a female president

A 23-year-old Cuesta College student who lives in Arroyo Grande told New Times that she thinks Harris has a far better chance to win than Biden did and thinks it was a good move to back out of the election before he was forced.

"There was just no way he was fit for office; I was thinking he was either going to opt out or have some medical professional or higher uppers eventually force him out," she said.

However, she thinks that Harris won't win because America's not ready for a woman to run this country.

"I think Kalama would be great, but I just don't think she has what it takes to win," she said. "I also don't think, as sad as it is, that America is ready for a female president, and I really wish we were. I especially don't think that we're ready for a woman of color."

Local party leaders

Republican Party of SLO Chair Randall Jordan said the local party wasn't shocked by any events of the election and has supported and endorsed Trump's latest run for president since 2023, making it one of the first Trump endorsements in the state.

"The assassination attempt was tragic and took us all aback, but it is not something that really surprised any of us," he said.

According to Jordan, Trump's entire political career has been in turmoil because Democrats and some Republicans have not liked the way the previous president has tried to restore the values the Republican Party was founded on.

"[They] have tried everything with Donald Trump. They've tried to convict him, they've tried to jail him, they've tried to bankrupt him," he said. "They have tried to demoralize him, to demean him, to basically make a monster out of someone that is just one of us. He's just somebody that is trying to make a better place in this country and take us back to the values that we actually were founded on and that we hold true."

Jordan said Trump sees the current government as "too big" and that it takes away individual liberty.

"I think that was the biggest thing that attracts Republicans to Donald Trump, is his love of freedom and his love of liberty," he said.

SLO County's Republican Party also upholds the values of faith, family, and freedom, he added. While Jordan said the party does not see Trump as a religious man, or even "father of the year" type family man, Trump's dedication to freedom makes him the best candidate.

President Biden dropping out of the presidential race seemed inevitable, Jordan said.

"If you were awake and actually listened to any of his interviews, [Biden] has been struggling for the past year," he said. "I won't say his full term, but the past year, he's been struggling."

Jordan said the party is waiting for the other shoe to drop to see if Biden can finish the term. Over the past 18 months, the party has seen the nation go down the "wrong road," he said, and is looking for Trump to spark change.

"We're not saying he's the end-all, but he will get us back on track, and hopefully get this nation back to what it once was," he said.

San Luis Obispo County Democratic Party chair Tom Fulks disagrees and told New Times that Biden has done just about more in two years than any president can do in two terms in office.

"He has done a remarkable job. Look at everything he's done in terms of the CHIPS Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, all the billions of dollars put into investing into our infrastructure, our roads, bridges, water systems all over the country, including red states that would never vote for him," he said. "On top of that, the world's most comprehensive and iconic climate change initiatives to really deal with climate change. He got all of these things done in two years."

The average American might not be aware of Biden's accomplishments because, Fulks said, they were diminished by the media's concentration on his age.

"This sort of microscopic attention that the media paid to it all while giving Trump, who's only three years younger, giving him a pass," he said. "Nobody has zeroed in on his slurring of his words everywhere he goes; the guy can barely sling together a noun, a verb, and a subject for a complete sentence."

While Biden might have vacated his presidential bid, Fulks said nobody is more qualified to be president than Harris.

"When you compare Kamala to [Trump], it's really not even close. Kamala is an absolute bona fide, accomplished trial attorney. She was district attorney for the city and county of San Francisco, then she was two times elected as the state attorney general and did all kinds of work," he said. "She was elected to the U.S. Senate, and then ran a successful campaign with Joe Biden to beat Trump in 2020."

Fulks said Harris is also a great campaigner and really good orator who her opponents underestimate. Most of all, she's getting people excited about the Democratic Party again.

"I was elected chair a year and a half ago, and our vounteers would come in and trickle in once a week, once every couple of weeks," he said. "Monday, we put a letter out saying, 'Hey, this is what's happening and we're happy about it,' and now we have more than 70 volunteers who have poured into our organization, come through our door, or come over on our website to see what they can do to help. And that's just our local party, this is happening all over the country." Δ

Staff Writers Bulbul Rajagopal, Samantha Herrera, and Libbey Hanson contributed to this story. Reach them through the editor at [email protected].