For months, Gretchen Wolfe of Phoenix has agonized over her choices in this year’s presidential election.Ms.Wolfe, 56, was active for years in her local Republican Party.
She voted for former President Donald J.Trump twice, holds more conservative views on border security and is wary of Vice President Kamala Harris’s spending plans.But this week — appalled by Mr.
Trump’s record of election denialism, worried about women’s rights and disgusted by displays of racism at his recent Madison Square Garden campaign rally — she cast her ballot for Ms.Harris.“I felt like I was betraying my party, but country has to come first,” said Ms.
Wolfe, who works in municipal government.“Even if our country is not better off in four years because of her policies, in four years, we’re still going to have a country where I have sovereignty over my body, and my ability to be the same level of citizen as somebody who has a different gender.”In a politically tribal and closely divided nation with vanishingly few undecided Americans left, Ms.
Wolfe is the rarest of rare voters.Democrats are betting that she is not alone.As Ms.Harris faces alarming signs of erosion with several traditionally Democratic groups, her ability to win over a few more Trump-weary moderate or right-leaning Americans like Ms.
Wolfe could play a pivotal role in determining the outcome of a razor-tight election.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
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