![]() Gallup reported a remarkable shift in the way Americans identify themselves politically. Neither women see themselves as Republicans, but for the time being, they will be voting for them.Ĭompton and Wagner are just two names behind a widespread shift towards Republicans over the course of the last year. And she realized, 'It's not what CNN claims it to be.' Soon, she did the unthinkable: She just turned on Fox News itself. She went from a casual viewer of CNN and MSNBC to seeking out Fox News clips about the 'schools issue' on YouTube because they were the only ones covering it. She realized early in the pandemic that it was conservative sites who were reporting on the impact of school closures and concerns she had over curriculum. I can't do that until I know my kids are good.'Ĭompton isn't alone, she's part of an army of Virginia parents who swung the gubernatorial election towards the Republican Glenn Youngkin, who just took office this week.Ĭompton was active in her community's efforts to open schools, as was her friend Bethany Wagner, a mother of two, also living in Fairfax.įor Wagner, the 'schools issue' proved to be a gateway into seeing the world through another set of eyes. 'If that can be solved, then I can worry about other things that are important to me, like gun control, and the environment and universal healthcare. Right now, my choices are very much based on my children and my children getting an education.' She went on, describing how she'll vote in the future, 'Until can present someone that's logical, I'm going to have to make choices. And they can go on to do all the things that are important to me… I've got to put my attention on the thing that's yelling at me the most.' 'So that they can protect the environment. My focus has to be on making sure that they're going to grow up and prosper and be the good citizens that they need to be.' 'They're being hurt by not being able to be in school, and not in school normally. Wagner (above with children) went from a casual viewer of CNN and MSNBC to seeking out Fox News clips about the 'schools issue' on YouTube because they were the only ones covering it. But I have to look at what's happening in my family and with my children right now.' She told me, 'All the things that Biden and Kamala believe in and what the Democratic Party believe in… I still believe in it. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, she said she'd vote for the Republican in a heartbeat.Ĭompton lamented how she got here, now supporting a political party with whom she felt very little in common with until COVID hit. Now? Given a hypothetical matchup between Kamala Harris or President Joe Biden vs. In contrast, when Compton offered the petition to those inside the Democrat party tent, she was yelled at. ![]() When Compton worked to collect signatures for a recall petition for the local school board, she was welcomed out of the rain by a Republican party tent, even after telling them she was a Biden voter. She wanted the public schools to fully reopen. 'Ī recording of a reorganization meeting showed fellow Democrats deeming Compton too 'anti-school' to be part of their political efforts. I was told I was not allowed to become a member of the Democratic Party. 'I tried and went to apply to work with the Democratic Party. Tracy Compton, a mother of two in Fairfax, Virginia, had voted for Democrats for as long as she can remember, until the COVID-related school closures.
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