US voters hear a stark message in the presidential race: The country’s fate is on the line

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Few elections successful nan nation’s history person provided specified a disagreement arsenic this year’s, pinch nan 2 awesome candidates and truthful galore of their supporters saying nan result will find nan destiny of nan state and whether it tin clasp to its antiauthoritarian moorings.

As they formed their ballots, voters person opinions connected nan divide arsenic divers and analyzable arsenic nan federation itself. Perhaps nary spot captures this scope of position much intelligibly than Charlottesville, Virginia.

It was erstwhile a gathering spot for Founding Fathers who cautioned astir nan dangers of governmental demagoguery. It besides was nan tract of nan “Unite nan Right” rally successful 2017, nan first twelvemonth of Donald Trump’s presidency, erstwhile hundreds of achromatic nationalists and neo-Nazis felt emboldened capable to unleash racist and antisemitic unit connected nan organization for its determination to region a Confederate statue. They chanted “Jews will not switch us” arsenic they marched done nan streets carrying tiki torches and Confederate flags.

One rallygoer plowed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, sidesplitting a female and injuring dozens more. President Joe Biden has said nan unfastened show of racism and antisemitism prompted him to enter nan title for nan White House successful 2020.

Associated Press journalists spent 3 days successful and astir Charlottesville during early October, interviewing voters astir nan predetermination that is now days away. These voters person knowledgeable 1 of nan astir visible caller examples of nan vitriol and section that has agelong been brewing beneath nan country’s surface, a reminder of what tin hap erstwhile dislike erupts and utmost ideas are allowed to fester unchecked.

Here is what they had to opportunity astir nan statesmanlike predetermination and its consequences.

Extremism is not going away

As a group justness activistic successful nan summertime of 2017, Jalane Schmidt tried to sound nan siren early.

The belief studies professor astatine nan University of Virginia said arsenic she was helping Charlottesville residents hole for “Unite nan Right” and nan different racist demonstrations that preceded it, she was excessively often told to “just person a speech and not beryllium truthful polarizing aliases dismissive.”

“I was like, really americium I expected to person a speech pinch personification who desires my annihilation?” said Schmidt, who is Black.

Looking backmost connected that summer, Schmidt says she and different activists saw past what others person started to spot since — that extremists airs a existent threat that is not going away.

Schmidt said Trump’s return to nan White House poses a threat to democracy, 1 nan Founding Fathers warned about.

“I deliberation we person things to study from immoderate of nan warnings that person been fixed to america astir demagogues,” she said. “It is not an overstatement to opportunity that populist is connected nan statement pinch this election.”

Political differences should not create enemies

Senior Pastor Rob Pochek gathered a mini group of men successful a gathering room astatine First Baptist Church connected Park Street, a Charlottesville institution approaching its 200th anniversary.

Universally, they denounced nan “Unite nan Right” rally arsenic hateful and against their values. Pochek said nan marchers’ antisemitic comments came “straight from nan pits of hell.” Christians believe Jesus, who was a Jew, he said.

While nan group had nuanced views astir Trump, they each agreed they cannot support Vice President Kamala Harris because of her stance connected abortion. Pochek said Trump’s lies, specifically astir the 2020 election, and different rhetoric make it a reliable decision.

“I deliberation nan truth that we person erstwhile President Trump and Vice President Harris arsenic nan 2 candidates for president of nan United States is successful itself a judgement connected America, that this is nan champion we person retired of astir 400 cardinal Americans,” he said.

He besides tries to build bridges, emphasizing to his congregants that group pinch different points of position should not beryllium seen arsenic their enemies.

Referring to nan symbols of some awesome parties, Pochek tells them their allegiance is not to a donkey aliases an elephant: “We believe nan Lamb,” he said.

‘The blinders are off’

Susan Bro lives successful a single-wide trailer successful Ruckersville, astir a half-hour’s thrust extracurricular Charlottesville, a municipality truthful mini it sometimes doesn’t look connected maps.

The car that struck nan “Unite nan Right” counter-protesters killed her daughter, 32-year-old Heather Heyer. Bro said that summertime awakened her and different achromatic residents to nan hatred group of colour had agelong known.

“I deliberation nan blinders are off,” she said. “This existed. We conscionable pretended it didn’t.”

She said she’s terrified of what will hap to nan state if Trump wins. She’s concerned astir his lies, his promises of retribution and nan Republican Party’s nonaccomplishment to guidelines up to him. She’s not judge whether populist tin survive.

But she besides realized that events for illustration what happened successful Charlottesville 7 years agone tin delude group into reasoning that dislike is exclusive to extremists.

“We each person to watch ourselves pinch these virulent rhetoric paths that we spell down, because erstwhile you commencement connected that, it’s really easy to conscionable support mouthing these phrases, holding connected to these ideas,” Bro said. “We person much successful communal than we deliberation we do.”

‘Trump was right’ astir nan marchers

At an early voting agency successful Charlottesville, Dan and Ruth Suggs said they had formed their ballots for Trump. The couple, joined for 53 years, did not spot Trump aliases Harris arsenic an existential threat to nan nation’s future.

“It’s not nan extremity of nan world. No matter who wins, it is still beautiful overmuch going to beryllium nan aforesaid thing,” said Dan Suggs. “The biggest quality is going to beryllium nan economy.”

They some disagreed pinch really nan metropolis handled nan removal of nan statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a downtown park, a determination that sparked nan 2017 rally. They said nan metropolis should person held a referendum connected nan rumor and that it mismanaged nan protest.

“I judge successful free speech. I don’t deliberation anybody has nan correct to effort to unopen it down, and that’s fundamentally what they were trying to do to nan alt-right,” Dan Suggs said.

Ruth Suggs said not everyone coming was location to origin trouble.

“There were group who conscionable wanted to perceive what they had to say,” she said. “Trump was correct erstwhile he said location were bully group connected some sides.”

Students from migrant families spot a individual threat, but differently

Nineteen-year-old Kushaan Soodan’s parents are Indian immigrants. Eighteen-year-old Arturo Romero is from Mexico and legally immigrated to California successful precocious schoolhouse pinch his parents and younger sisters.

The 2 are now assemblage students and acquaintances astatine nan University of Virginia. But they spot nan predetermination wholly differently, successful portion because of their experiences hailing from migrant families.

As Soodan registered UVA students to ballot connected a caller Friday, he said nan predetermination is important to preserving populist and making a connection that dislike should not person a location successful America.

“That benignant of hatred — we’ve already seen what that tin cause,” said Soodan, opinionated adjacent nan field walkway utilized 7 years agone by nan “Unite nan Right” marchers. “And I deliberation that this predetermination is 1 of nan ways we tin do that to wherever we tin say, no, we don’t want this, we don’t for illustration this.”

Romero said he feared a Harris triumph would push nan state to nan constituent of nary return. He defended Trump and said his words were often misunderstood, including erstwhile he suggested that migrants who are successful nan U.S. and person committed execution did truthful because “it’s successful their genes.”

Romero said Trump was not speaking astir each immigrants. He said he had seen really Mexico changed for nan worse erstwhile much migrants began walking done to get to nan U.S. He said crime increased, and he doesn’t want nan aforesaid point to hap to America.

Romero praised Trump’s wide effect connected nan economy, separator and nan nation’s world stability, and he felt Biden’s policies had fallen short: “If we get 4 much years, past this is not going to beryllium reversible.”

‘The pot’s still connected nan stove’

Leslie Scott-Jones was calved and raised successful Charlottesville and has lived her life alert of nan worst consequences of racism. So she was perplexed aft nan “Unite nan Right” rally to spot nan news media coming it arsenic shocking.

“How did you travel to judge that we were surviving successful a post-racial society?” said Scott-Jones, who is Black. “Because nan remainder of america person been surviving a very different experience.”

The convulsive rally was a “bubble bursting,” she said, but “the pot’s still connected nan stove.”

Still, it was a profoundly achy infinitesimal for Scott-Jones, who was holding an arena for artists erstwhile she heard crashing sounds that turned retired to beryllium nan conveyance battle connected nan counter-protesters. She stopped what she was doing and rushed to help.

Scott-Jones, who is curator of learning and engagement astatine a section African American practice center, said she has heard nan pleas to prevention populist pinch her vote, but they don’t look compelling. She thinks nan strategy needs to beryllium reimagined.

“This state has not worked for Black group since we sewage here,” she said. “Why would I want to prevention thing that virtually treated my group arsenic spot for hundreds of years?”

She said she is voting for third-party campaigner Cornel West and hopes America tin someday unrecorded up to nan ideals it espouses.

Might nan state descend into governmental unit and descend into deeper section aft November’s election?

“That is simply a worry,” Scott-Jones said. “But I honestly don’t deliberation that that depends connected who sits successful that chair.”

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Associated Press interrogator Rhonda Shafner successful New York contributed to this report.

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