Democrats demonstrate ahead of presidential election

Alex Hargrave
Posted 11/4/20

Every night up until Election Day, Goshen County’s democrats showed their support for the party’s presidential candidate, Joe Biden.

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Democrats demonstrate ahead of presidential election

Posted

TORRINGTON – Every night up until Election Day, Goshen County’s democrats showed their support for the party’s presidential candidate, Joe Biden.

From 4:45 p.m. until 5:15 p.m., the group of senior citizens stood at the corner of Main Street and U.S. Highway 26 wearing face masks and holding signs, waving to cars and chatting amongst each other. In Goshen County, where President Donald Trump won more than 76% of the vote in the 2016 general election, they know they’re the minority.

They don’t care.

“We know we’re vastly outnumbered,” said Rob Branham, a Goshen County democrat. “But we want to just show people that we’re here and we have a voice.”

Democrat Marci Shaver said they decided to bring their Biden signs to the busy intersection starting on Oct. 21, because they’ve been disappearing from their front yards throughout this election cycle. Torrington Police Department has received a number of reports of stolen or vandalized signs representing both Biden and President Donald Trump over the past few months.

Shaver said instead of leaving their signs out for the taking, she and other democrats decided to bring them out to display to passersby during rush hour and then bring them back into their homes. 

The group elicited mixed reactions from the vehicles that drove by throughout the 30 minutes. There was the expected backlash, including middle fingers raised, big trucks revving their engines loudly and cries of “F--- Biden” and the slightly kinder, “good luck with that.”

There were also honks of support and waves and thumbs-ups from cars. Whether they’re being criticized or encouraged, the democrats reacted the same way – with a smile and a wave. 

“For every (middle finger), we get two honks,” said Sherrill Helzer, a Goshen County Democrat. 

Shaver said the group ended their demonstrations Monday prior to Election Day, because by 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, most people would have already voted.

Branham said their goal wasn’t necessarily to convince voters to choose the democrat on the ticket, but to let those “on the fence” know they’re not alone in their beliefs.

“We don’t want them to feel like they’re the only ones that are around willing to break from the mold of the Republican Party,” he said.

And though democrats are in the minority, there are still 924 Goshen County residents who voted for democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, according to data from the county clerk’s office. 

Shaver said there’s at least one lesson she’ll take away from her evenings at the busy intersection: there are a lot of cars that need windshield replacements.