Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/747615
ByJillColvinand Kathleen Hennessey The Associated Press ATKINSON, NEW HAMP- SHIRE DonaldTrumpand Hillary Clinton charged through vastly different corners of America Friday hunting for vastly differ- ent voters in a final, frantic push that traced the coun- try's geographic, racial and economic divides. Clinton and Democratic allies bounced from city to city oters. She was to cam- paign in urban centers of Detroit, Pittsburgh and Cleveland on Friday while President Barack Obama was heading to Charlotte, North Carolina — all cities where minority voters are crucial. In Pittsburgh, a city where one in three people is not white, Clinton ham- mered Trump as "some- one who demeans women, mocks people with disabil- ities, insults African-Amer- icans and Latinos and de- monizes immigrants and Muslims." "Everywhere he goes he leaves people behind," Clin- ton told rowdy supporters. Trump, meanwhile, was on a tour of rural ar- eas, hoping to boost turn- out among the white, work- ing-class voters drawn to his promise to bring back a lost America. He started his day Friday in Atkinson, New Hampshire, popula- tion 6,800 and almost 98 percent white, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. From there, he was bound for Wilmington, Ohio, an- other overwhelmingly white town where just 13 percent of residents have a college degree. Speaking more than 2,000 miles from the Mex- ican border, Trump drew loud cheers in Atkinson when he vowed to build a massive wall between the U.S. and Mexico. The crowd booed when he contended that Clinton supports "open borders." "Her plans would mean generations of terrorism, extremism and radical- ism spreading into your schools and through your communities," Trump de- clared. In spite of a close race in national polling, Trump's path to victory remains nar- row. For example, he must win Florida, where polls show a neck-and-neck race. His campaign is increas- ingly looking to make up for losses among suburban vot- ers, particularly women, by wrestling up new voters in out-of-the-way places. The candidates' diver- gent paths highlighted the yawning gaps between race, place and economics that drive presidential pol- icies. Trump told his largely white audience in Atkinson that "we have to rebuild our country." "They've shipped our jobs and they've shipped our wealth to other coun- tries," he said. "To all Amer- icans, I say it is time for new leadership." Trump's dark views on the economy clashed with a new jobs report showing the unemployment rate de- clined to 4.9 percent while wages went up in Octo- ber. The report marks 73 straight months of job growth. But the Republican said the numbers weren't good enough, and he cast doubt on whether they were accu- rate. "These numbers are an absolute disaster," Trump said, reviving his argu- ment that the unemploy- ment numbers released every month by the Labor Department are skewed be- cause they don't accurately account for those who've dropped out of the work- force. "Nobody believes the numbers they're reporting anyway," he said. As he spoke, Clinton campaigned in Pittsburgh, delivering a nearly oppo- site message. She celebrated what she described as the Rust Belt city's rebirth of "confidence" and economic renewal. She asked vot- ers to "imagine two dif- ferent Americas" — one with Trump in charge, and one with her in the White House. "Think about what it will be to trust the nuclear codes to someone with a very thin skin," she said, adding Trump could "start a real war, not just a Twit- ter war at 3 in the morning." Clinton called the jobs re- port "good news." "I believe that our econ- omy is poised to really take off and thrive," she said. "When the middle class thrives, America thrives." CAMPAIGN 2016 Infinalpush,Clinton,TrumptargetdifferentAmericas ANDREWHARNIK—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Hillary Clinton, le , accompanied by retired Pittsburgh Steelers Mel Blount, right, takes the stage at a rally at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on Friday. JIM COLE — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Donald Trump acknowledges supporters during a campaign rally Friday in Atkinson, N.H. By Nancy Benac The Associated Press WASHINGTON After all the sound, fury, fact, fal- lacy, bluster and blarney of the 2016 presidential cam- paign, there still are unde- cided voters out there. Really. And they're not just peo- ple who've buried their heads in the sand. Some thoughtful people just do not know what to do with the choices they've been given, yet are deter- mined to exercise their right to vote. "I'm just really trying to completely think this through," says Peter Schro- eder, a fulltime student and tech startup worker in Erie, Pennsylvania. "I have a mail-in ballot and I change my mind ev- ery day about what I should do," says Lori Perez, a stay- at-home mom in Lehi, Utah. "Let me have a moment of silence to think about this, OK?" asks Moshe Sher- izen, a digital marketer from Southfield, Michigan. Polls suggest the unde- cideds make up a small slice of the electorate — perhaps just 2 percent at this late date. The campaigns have largely them written off, placing their emphasis in- stead on boosting turnout among the much larger bloc of voters they've already identified as supporters. But in a close race, the undecideds still could be de- cisive, especially since poll- sters say they're more likely to cast ballots if they live in competitive states than in noncompetitive ones. Spend some time talking to undecided voters and a clear theme of dissatisfac- tion quickly emerges. "It's not a choice between two goods," says Demo- cratic pollster Peter Hart, who conducts focus groups. "It's a choice between two deplorables, from their point of view." Texan Danielle Inman, who works for a cellular provider, shows the conflict- ing emotions that are roil- ing undecided voters, who can talk themselves in and out of multiple candidates in a single conversation. In a 10-minute chat, the 47-year-old single mother from Plano says Republican Donald Trump and Demo- crat Hillary Clinton would "screw things up equally — just in different ways." She says there's "no way in hell" she'd vote for Trump. She says the third-party candi- dates don't have a chance of winning, so she'll defi- nitely pick a major-party candidate. That leaves Clin- ton. But she's not sure she can vote for her. And maybe she can vote third-party af- ter all. So she'll be "praying very heavily on my drive to my polling place" for the right answer. Pennsylvania millennial Schroeder, an indepen- dent who voted for Ralph Nader in 2008 and Presi- dent Barack Obama in 2012, says he's been to a Trump rally but has gotten most of his information about the campaign from friends and family who depict the Re- publican as a "dirty, nasty scathing type of person" and Clinton as "a hero who is straight as an arrow." But he's also heard people crit- icize Clinton's secret email server and call her a "felon." "I'm just stuck in the middle," says Schroeder, 23. "I don't know what I'm looking for." Beth Keehn, a 39-year- old medical center mar- keting official from Colum- bus Grove, Ohio, says she's voted Republican since age 18 but Trump appalls her and Clinton is too liberal. "While I'd love to see a woman in the White House, I don't agree with the pol- icies," she says of Clinton. Keehn feels a tug to vote for a third-party candidate but "the fear is that if you don't vote for Clinton, you're just giving a vote to Trump. But I do feel like if we do that forever, we'll never have the opportunity to have a third- party voice." The undecideds make up such a small portion of the electorate that it's hard to get a fix on where they're coming from politically. But Republican pollster Micah Roberts analyzed data on a sizeable chunk of undecided voters in early October and found them to be leaning heavily Repub- lican. Some of them may be gravitating to the GOP nominee in the campaign's final days, he says. "You're seeing that juice getting injected into the Trump side," says Roberts. Sherizen, 32, might — or might not — fall into that category. He considers him- self a Democrat but also a risk-taker and likes Trump's pledge of tough immigra- tion policies to keep out po- tential terrorists. "So I'm sort of inclined to vote for Trump," he says. "But then I picture my- self driving to vote and I'm like, 'Really? No, I'll vote for Hillary.'" PRESIDENTIAL RACE The undecided voters: They're still out there, and so very conflicted Round Up Saloon Round Up Saloon 610WashingtonSt. (530) 527-9901 JoinUsEach Sunday For FOOTBALL!! Openat10a.m. Happy hour from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. FREEbar-b-q STOVEJUNCTION The TheNorthState'spremiersupplierofstoves 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com Over 25 years of experience Tues-Sat9am-5pm• ClosedSun&Mon Now Carrying! GreenMountainGrills & Accessories Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties Smog Check (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. starting at $ 29 95 + $ 8 25 certificate Shop Equipped With 4SmogMachines For Fast Service No appointment Needed This could be your lucky day by helping a dog or cat find a loving home from... Paws & Claws ADOPT A PET TODAY Nala Ad Sp onsorship $ 32 Call Suzy at (530) 737-5056 TEHAMACOUNTYDEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL SERVICES 1830 Walnut Street P.O. Box 38 • Red Bluff, CA� 96080 (530) 527-3439 CORNING ANIMAL SHELTER 4312 Rawson Rd. Corning, CA 96021 (530) 824-7054 SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 5 B