About 30 Carson City voters turned out for the debate watch party at the Carson Nugget’s Alatte Coffee and Wine bistro and almost without exception, they were for Donald Trump.
One of the few exceptions was Don Peterson who said he’s for Libertarian Gary Johnson.
Peterson described Johnson, saying “he’s goofy but real.”
But he made it clear he’s not a big fan of politicians: “What politicians say is irrelevant,” he said.
Bob Morrow said he’s for the Republican nominee Donald Trump not Hilliary Clinton.
“She’s a politician and I don’t trust her,” he said.
Trump, Morrow said, comes off more real than Clinton, the Democrat.
But Morrow made it clear he doesn’t think either candidate understands regular people.
“I don’t think they know how to walk in my shoes,” he said. “But I don’t want him to walk in my shoes. I want him to make sure I can walk in my shoes.”
Tom Stanley said he has been a Trump supporter since 2007 and Wednesday night didn’t change his mind.
“I’m still Trump,” he said.
He was joined by Richard Fraige who said, “there is no other choice.”
All those interviewed along with Morrow’s wife, Stephanie, said they didn’t hear anything in Wednesday’s debate they haven’t heard before in this campaign.
“We’ve seen this so many times,” said Bob Morrow.
As for who won, “I think it was a tie,” said Stanley.
It was almost immediately clear when the debate started the Alatte crowd was overwhelmingly for Trump. On issue after issue, Clinton’s remarks were met with catcalls while Trump’s challenges and off-hand comments to her drew applause, laughter and cheers.
A good share of the crowd, which at the start numbered just more than 30 people, left before the halfway point of the 90-minute debate. By the end, there were only 16 people left.