Reno resident Chris Burke, 38, is a veteran and an accountant. As a first-generation college graduate from a blue-collar family, he also has student loan debt. He used to be a registered Democrat. But President Joe Biden, who he wishes would only serve one term, pushed him away.
“I got student loans. I wasn’t expecting them to get paid off, I knew that that was a pipe dream, so I wasn’t terribly upset about that,” Burke said. “But as far as what he’s done for me, that’s what I can’t speak to. So that’s why I decided to give the other party a shot.”
So last year, Burke changed his party affiliation to Republican. That was before the state party announced that the results of the primary would be non-binding and it would hold a caucus two days later.
“I kind of feel like I’ve gone from disenchanted to disenfranchised,” he said.
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is the top candidate left on the primary ballot, and former President Donald Trump’s name will appear in the caucus. It’s all but guaranteed Nevada’s 26 Republican delegates will go to Trump. But Burke said he’ll likely sit out and reluctantly prepare for a Biden versus Trump showdown in November.
“Neither of those two candidates are going to be around long enough to have to live with the decisions that they’re making while they’re in office,” Burke said. “I would need to support Biden again, just to prevent Trump from a second term.”
Luke Paschall, who owns a plumbing company in Reno, is also anti-Trump. He said the former president has more baggage than the others. Paschall mailed his primary ballot for Haley, but he found out after that she can’t win any delegates. While voters can participate in both the primary and caucus, candidates could only be in one or the other.
“Nevada worked so hard to be farther up on the calendar for selection, and then they go off and shoot themselves in the foot. That is extremely, so irritating,” Paschall said.
As a small business owner, Paschall would like to see fewer federal regulations. He’s personally impacted by high prices like material costs and health insurance.
“I changed my mind on national health care, which, of course, is the anti-thing for the Republican Party,” Paschall said. “But as a business owner, we pay a vast amount of money every month for health care.”
Verdi resident Robin Fuller would also like to see universal health care. She’s a nurse at Renown and grandmother of four. Another issue top of mind for Fuller is safety and gun control. Because of mass shootings, she’s afraid to be in crowds.
“I would like to see guns treated like cars, and gun users treated like drivers. So you have to register your gun, you have to have a license to use it,” Fuller said.
Even though she finds herself agreeing with both Democratic and Republican ideas, she feels ostracized, especially after voting for Trump in the past.
“I get kind of black sheeped. ‘Don't talk about that in front of Robin, she’s a Republican.’ They’re talking about abortion issues, gay rights issues, or gun law issues, social issues. And I’m like, wait a minute, I kind of agree with you guys,” Fuller said.
Peter Scougale is a Christian father of five in Spring Creek and volunteers as the Elko County Republican Treasurer. He also wants to see civil discourse return.
“There’s just so much name-calling and vitriol, and you see it from both sides,” Scougale said. “That comes from the unfortunate fact I think a lot of people almost treat politics like religion.”
Scougale said he likes Haley because she has the experience to lead the country on the world stage. He’s in favor of supporting Ukraine and Israel and wants to see something done to fix immigration.
“Border security is important because we need to know who’s coming over,” Scougale said. “Obviously, the legal process must be rather difficult if people are willing to go to such extents, where we see people drowning in the Rio Grande or dying of exposure out in the Sonoran Desert.”
The 2016 election was the first time Scougale did not vote for a Republican president, but in 2020, he voted for Trump after his first term. Although he likes Trump’s Supreme Court picks, he’s no longer a fan.
“When the election business happened, my attitude was let’s see how it shakes out in the courts. When nothing was found, like no substantive evidence of widespread vote fraud, but he just kept going on about it. And then the disaster of January 6, I was just done,” he said.
But, Scougale doesn’t think the Republican Party is ready for someone new. He was going to caucus for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis before he dropped out. Now, he’s staying home and hopes that lower participation at the caucus sends a message to the party.
As a note of disclosure, Paschall’s company, Aquious Plumbing, is a business sponsor of KUNR Public Radio.
