Virginia spent much of the last decade voting for Democratic Presidential candidates but now Republicans in the Commonwealth are hoping a lack of enthusiasm for President Joe Biden could help flip Virginia this fall.
And as Radio IQ found out at a bus stop in downtown Richmond, they might get their wish.
At a bus stop in front of Richmond City Hall, it easily feels like 100 degrees between the sun and the humidity. And as people waited for their rides, wiping the midday sweat from their brows, no one was excited to talk about the 2024 race.
“I think Biden probably should step down but at this point it's kind of late,” Mike Lamm said as he waited for his ride.
Lamm works for the government and says he’d vote for anyone other than Donald Trump. Despite recognizing Biden’s legislative achievements -the infrastructure deal and its thousands of high paying jobs for Americans he echoed concern about Biden’s future in the White House.
“His ability to finish 4 years. Both mentally and physically at this point, yea know?" he said. "He’s old.”
Biden won Virginia in 2020 by about 10 points, but polls during this campaign have indicated a neck-and-neck rematch with Donald Trump. And while the president has since said he has no plans to step back, multiple bus riders said they hope he might or that they’d given up on the election entirely.
Christopher Cook said he hasn’t voted since Barack Obama was elected. As for voting for Biden or Trump this year?
“I heard bad about both of them. Biden is too old; he can’t remember nothing," Cook said. "And Trump is so cocky he doesn’t give a damn about nothing."
And when asked if that means he'll vote for anyone this fall, he said quickly: "Nope.”
At least one voter was excited about the 2024 matchup; Ruth Right, a traveling nurse, said she was pumped to vote for former president Trump.
“He did a lot of good things for the country and financially the country was getting in a good place," Right said. "Now it's back down because of Biden.”
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
