Occupation: administrative assistant at a college
Personal: married with two daughters
2008 vote: John McCain
Back in September, registered Republican Tricia Halliday was building a mental checklist of pros and cons to see which presidential candidate was “weighted more closely to my heart.”
She found her answer on the night of the first debate between Obama and Romney.
“It just seemed a clear decision to me that [Romney’s] thoughts are more in line with mine,” Ms. Halliday says. “I thought it revealed that Obama was weak in several areas, mostly financial in that debate.”
Nothing happened in the subsequent debates to change her mind, and she thinks it’s highly unlikely that anything else will sway her between now and Election Day.
Balancing the federal budget is one of her top priorities for the nation, but the decision “does come down to personal things,” she says.
“I’m not better off than I was four years ago. Obama is not better for my family,” Halliday elaborates. “Is Romney going to fix everything? I highly doubt it. But I think he has a better shot, and I’m not willing to cast another vote for four years like the past four years.”
Her concerns about Romney as a “flip-flopper” have eased somewhat, though that doesn’t make her an avid supporter. “I have a little more faith in him. Not complete faith,” she says. “It’s not like I’m going out waving flags for him.... Of these two [candidates], this is my choice.”
No longer among the tiny sliver of undecided voters, Halliday is ready to step into the voting booth and await the results. Right now, Obama overall in New Hampshire is ahead by 1.1 points, according to the Oct. 26 RealClearPolitics average.
“Now it’s kind of in God’s hands,” Halliday says. “I’ve taken care of my clear conscience in casting my one vote. That’s my job.”
– Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, staff writer
