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The
fate of the state - and Trump's chances in the national election
- would be for others to decide.
"It will be a few days before we know Pennsylvania," said Randy
Bunch, a county commissioner and Trump supporter, after
confirming that Trump had won the county with 85.3% of the vote.
"It is what it is."
Fulton County is Trump Country. In 2016, the Republican
president's overwhelming victory there made it the "reddest" of
Pennsylvania's 67 counties. Tuesday's result was a sign the
coronavirus pandemic had not dented Trump's popularity in this
south-central slice of the state.
Running up the score in areas like Fulton County has been seen
as critical to Trump's chances in Pennsylvania, a battleground
state also prized by Democratic challenger Joe Biden and which
could ultimately determine the election.
As of 2:25 a.m. (0725 GMT), Pennsylvania still had more than 1.5
million mail-in ballots left to count and official state tallies
were not expected until later this week. The result in Fulton
County, however, was never in doubt.
Interviews over the past week with more than three dozen
residents of the county, which is 97% white, revealed an almost
unshakeable belief that Trump had their interests at heart.
Trump yard signs in McConnellsburg, the county seat, outnumber
Biden's 20-to-1.
Melissa Henry said sales at the used car dealer where she works
had boomed under Trump, and that she was worried a Biden
administration, which she believes would move the country toward
socialism, would undo all those gains.
"If it goes Biden's way, it will destroy the United States,"
said Henry, 55, adding that she hoped the Republicans, in the
event of a Biden victory, would fight the Democrats on "every
single thing they do" to thwart their agenda.
While national opinion polls show Trump's perceived
mismanagement of the pandemic had given an edge to Biden, Fulton
County voters broadly dismissed that criticism as politically
driven and blamed the states for failing to control the virus,
while echoing Trump in saying it was overhyped.
From Johnnie's Diner to the local gun shop to Tuesday's meeting
of the election board - very few people wear masks.
"I think the whole reason for the downturn is the fact that the
media wants to try to scare everybody to death," said David
O'Neal, a salesman for boom-lift maker JLG Industries, which has
its headquarters in McConnellsburg.
FLYOVER COUNTRY
Fulton County, with 9,829 registered voters, is one of the
smallest in the state. But it is a microcosm of what underpins
Trump's support in rural areas, with gun rights and social-
conservative issues at the top of voters' minds.
Several voters said Biden also hurt his chances by saying in the
final debate he would "transition away" from the oil industry -
a remark seen as a threat to the economic vitality of the state.
They believe Biden will take a softer stance on China, which
could hurt manufacturers like JLG.
But perhaps more important is the general sense that Trump,
unlike previous presidents, paid attention to their needs.
"They are flyover country within flyover country," said
Republican state Representative Jesse Topper, whose constituency
includes Fulton County. "Folks who are very proud, work very
hard, but who also feel they are overlooked."
The national protests set off by the death in May of George
Floyd, a Black man, under the knee of a white Minneapolis police
officer, also hardened views against Biden, with Democrats seen
as too supportive of demonstrations that sometimes turned
violent.
But voters generally said they were ready to accept the outcome
of the election, be it Biden or Trump.
"It's not the end of the world whoever gets it," said Rick
Keefer, a 49-year-old welder who voted for Trump.
(Reporting by Nathan Layne in McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania;
Editing by Peter Cooney)
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