Undecided voters are no myth. So who are they?Blanca Morales, like 84 million others, tuned in last week to watch the first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. But it didn鈥檛 help her decide who she鈥檒l pick on Election Day. If anything, it complicated matters.
鈥淚 was like, Oh this is real. This is so real,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd I can鈥檛 鈥� I mean, I鈥檓 going to do something. I鈥檓 not going to sit here at home. I鈥檓 not going to not vote.鈥�
Morales, who鈥檚 27, lives in San Antonio. (Full disclosure, she and I briefly worked at the same company.) Morales say she鈥檚 never found a presidential candidate who鈥檚 a great fit, but that鈥檚 especially true this year. She won鈥檛 vote for Trump. She doesn鈥檛 trust Clinton. So 鈥� Jill Stein of the Green Party?
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to vote third party based on my principles and then find by doing that I actually voted in somebody that just doesn鈥檛 align with my ideals at all, not even close,鈥� Morales says. 鈥淪o I don鈥檛 even know how to feel, man.鈥�
She鈥檚 not alone. Josh Thompson and his wife own a real estate business in Tyler. Business is good, but he鈥檚 worried about the country鈥檚 slow rate of growth. He鈥檚 not sure there鈥檚 a candidate out there who will help.
鈥淚鈥檓 a guy without a candidate. And because of that, who do you vote for?鈥� Thompson says. 鈥淒o you go vote for a guy like Gary Johnson who doesn鈥檛 have a chance to win? Or just throw your vote away and vote for somebody like Jill Stein just as a way to stand up and try to shake your fist at the man?鈥�
Thompson favors small government. Usually, he votes for the Republican presidential candidate, even though he doesn鈥檛 agree with much of the party鈥檚 social platform. That鈥檚 especially true for Trump.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe in deporting illegal aliens. I think that鈥檚 crazy. I鈥檓 in the real estate business. And if we deported people who were questionable on whether they were illegal aliens or not, I may or may not have anybody show up to work,鈥� Thompson says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of the reasons I struggle even with Donald Trump 鈥� because this candidacy is built on being fearful of Mexican immigrants, saying he wants to build a wall, saying he wants to send all these people back. I welcome him to come out on the job site with me and tell that to these people.鈥�
Though Thompson may not support Trump, many of his neighbors will. Tyler is one of the most solidly Republican parts of Texas. Another is Sweeny, 60 miles southwest of Houston. Dawn Pekar lives there. She鈥檚 a 50-year-old stay-at-home mother of six.
鈥淚 have a lot of people around me who say they鈥檙e going to vote for Trump, members of my family,鈥� Pekar says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been very disheartening. A lot of people I know and love.鈥�
Pekar鈥檚 still officially undecided 鈥� but she鈥檚 decided on one thing. She won鈥檛 be voting for Trump. 鈥淚 have loathed the man since the 鈥�80s,鈥� Pekar says.
She thinks Trump is a misogynist, a racist, and unfit to be president. Pekar has voted libertarian in most presidential elections. But this year, anyone not named 鈥淭rump鈥� has a shot with her. That includes mythical sea creatures 鈥� her Facebook profile picture says: 鈥淐thulhu for President 鈥� Why Choose the Lesser Evil?鈥�
Mostly though, Pekar鈥檚 just ready for the election to be over, like Richard Keller.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a circus,鈥� Keller says. 鈥淭hat would be the best way of describing it. It鈥檚 a circus, but it鈥檚 not very funny or entertaining.鈥�
Keller, who鈥檚 30, works in sales. He lives in Fort Worth with his wife and three kids. He typically supports Libertarians, and he won鈥檛 vote for Trump. But his main quibble is with politics itself.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard for me to watch people blindly root for their team: 鈥楾his is my team and this is what I like,鈥欌�� Keller says. 鈥淎nd if you have any other thoughts, you get automatically get lumped into this other group. So I鈥檝e become more vocal because I feel like you have to fight for this nuanced point of view, because that鈥檚 really what鈥檚 not getting out there.鈥�
So he鈥檚 split between Clinton and Johnson, but really he鈥檚 unsure how much his vote will matter in Texas. That doesn鈥檛 mean he鈥檒l just write somebody in 鈥� although the thought may have crossed his mind.
鈥淚 could almost literally write in 鈥楳ickey Mouse鈥� and it鈥檚 probably not going to be that big of a deal,鈥� Keller says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 sad to say that. It sounds like a very nihilist point of view, like nothing matters so why do it. I still feel like I need to vote because I鈥檝e got children, I鈥檝e got three kids. Whoever鈥檚 going to be our next president, is going to determine some policy that is going to affect them.鈥�
Keller, Morales, Thompson and Pekar have 33 days to decide who they鈥檒l vote for. We鈥檒l check in with them each week to see what they鈥檙e thinking.
Because even though Texas will almost certainly back Trump, the small percentage of undecided voters could frame the state鈥檚 future as a Republican slam dunk or a real opening for Democrats. Even if four votes don鈥檛 make the difference between a win and a loss for one candidate, individual votes matter to individual voters.
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