Georgia voters debate future of the middle class under Biden-Harris administration
ATLANTA - DeKalb County Democrats Nadia and Marty are grateful Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are headed to the White House. Nadia is a recent Boston Law School grad. Marty is an I.T. executive and father of three. Both believe middle-class America is now poised to thrive under new leadership.
"The ordinary person has a whole lot of student debt, how to boost the economy, freeing up debt so millennials can actually buy homes. Those are the things that spur the economy. It's time for us to move forward as a nation. We have a lot of work to do," said Nadia, who lives in Stone Mountain.
"When you look at the cities that came through and changed states to blue, those are from places that are underserved communities. Those people recognize at the end of the day, their best interests will be recognized by someone who has some experience of being a normal person, being an everyday Joe," said Marty, who is the vice-chairman of The Black Man Lab, a think tank and mentoring organization based in Atlanta. "Right now, I'm just excited about the leadership at the top causing a bunch of division in our country being gone," said Marty.
Christian, an Emory University Law Student, insists the president-elect tailors only to what Christian calls radical or elite democrats. As the president of the Buckhead Young Republicans, he questions President-elect Biden's next move.
"Is he going to shut down the country? Is he going to impose a mask mandate? Who's going to get hurt the most by those measures are middle-class Americans the people who have to be at work for their jobs in person to put food on the table for their families. He wants higher taxes, more regulation. That hits the middle class more so than anyone else," said the Druid Hills voter.
Jake, who is the head of the Georgia Chapter of the Republican National Lawyers Association, believes the nation will be in worse shape four years from now.
"I think Biden Harris are going to underperform and I say that with utmost confidence. I'm not saying I want them to underperform. I'm saying Republican principals put the country in the best position to move forward," said the elections attorney. "In every election there is fraud. The question is going to be whether the fraud is sufficient to cast a doubt on the result of the election. That's the ultimate legal standard."
Carmen, who lives in Hall County, is working on her PhD in Rome, Italy. She still won't say which candidate won her mail-in ballot, but hopes Americans are poised to mend wounds that have festered for years.
"As a military wife and mother, I've always seen our country to be very resilient. And watching this from this side of the pond, even Europeans are confident that the country will bind itself again. Everyone is looking to us to be an example," said the small business owner.