[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by wittynickname

You also cannot underestimate the weight of a disliked female candidate vs a disliked male candidate.

This is still a deeply racist and sexist country.

I've said for 4 years that a male candidate with the same qualifications and history as Clinton would have beat Trump. A male version of Hillary may not have won over a lot of voters, but likely would have been enough to beat Trump's razor thin margins in the midwest.


In other anecdotal news: I already returned my ballot here in PA, dropped it off last Tuesday, and then 24 hours later on Wednesday I got a confirmation email that it had been received. PA mail-in ballots aren't counted until election day, but it's nice to know mine is already in.

Yet another anecdote, just from being around the public in a reasonably red area of PA. There are far more people in my salon who are being vocally critical of Trump than in 2016. There are still some Trump apologists, of course, but it's a far more even mix this time around. Most clients in my chair have either said outright or implied that they have/plan to vote for Biden--though to be fair, I must give off solid Bleeding Heart Liberal vibes because I seem to have avoided/shed most conservative types.

I'm still nervous about this election and I will continue to be until it's over, but I'm less anxious about it than I was 4 years ago.