The California Presidential Primary on Mar. 3 arrived on one of the most delegate-rich contests during the primaries on a single day, known as “Super Tuesday”. Holding fifteen primary elections and caucuses, amounting to one-third of all delegates pledged to the Democratic National Convention to nominate a Democratic Presidential nominee.

The looming question for the 2020 Presidential General Election is: Who will emerge from the Democratic Primary electoral contests as the nominee to challenge incumbent President Donald J. Trump? California’s decision to move its primary election to Super Tuesday, holds significant weight as the most populous state.

In brief informal interviews with two CSUSM students that were willing to share their vote in the 2020 California Presidential Primary and personal opinions about current political issues, desired qualities within a candidate and explained their thought-process in deciding their vote.

In an interview with Leopoldo Perez, Senior, Political Science major and Philosophy minor, engaged in a brief discussion about his vote.

Question: Are you registered to vote?

Answer: “Yes”

Question: Did you vote in the California Presidential Primary?

Answer: “Yes”

Question: What party do you affiliate?

Answer: Independent

Question: Did you vote in Democratic Primary?

Answer: “Yes

Question: Who did you vote for and can you describe what qualities about the candidate, or their campaign are important to you?

Answer: “I was between Warren or Sanders, initially I was following Warren to see where each of the two were projected to go in the race and then I ended up going with Sanders”.

Follow-Up Question: Were there any set of criteria, beliefs, background that was important to determining your vote?

Answer: “I voted based upon what is best for the many but not in a socialist type of way. Rather, I identify with issues that are aimed at providing benefits for the collective society or Middle Class. I would identify myself as a social liberal and fiscal conservative. However, as a political science major coming from a military background, my father of Afro-Puerto Rican descent never voted while in the military because he believed it was like voting for your boss in a sense, the U.S. Government, while on the other hand my mother is very democratically liberal in her political views. Most of my father’s military friends voted Republicans or conservatives, on the rationale that they often implemented policy that favored the military”.

In my next interview, Colette Woods, Senior, Political Science major, provided insight on who she decided to cast her vote for and issues that were important in her decision-making.

Question: Are you registered to vote?

Answer: “Yes”

Question: Did you vote in the California Presidential Primary?

Answer: “Yes”

Question: What party do you affiliate?

Answer: Democrat

Question: Did you vote in Democratic Primary?

Answer: “Yes

Question: Who did you vote for and can you describe what qualities about the candidate, or their campaign are important to you?

Answer: “I voted for Elizabeth Warren. Some of the policies that her campaign proposed that I found appealing, were the Senator’s ‘Wealth tax’. It is a 2% tax on Americans who earn an income of more than $50 million dollars and 3% tax on Americans who earn more than a billion dollars. I believe those who became wealthy, obtained that wealth because of consumers in their community and therefore should give back”.

“I liked that Warren’s policy plans were all targeted at addressing the needs and grievances of historically marginalized groups, especially Native Americans”.

“Also, I liked that Warren is a co-sponsor to the Green New Deal, an author of the Blue Deal, supports eliminating student debt and there were many qualities about her campaign that I liked. However, I didn’t like her deciding to take a DNA test to prove her Cherokee heritage; I thought that was unnecessary”.

Follow-Up Questions: Were there any set of criteria, beliefs, background that was important to determining your vote?

Answer: “I wanted to support a woman as a Presidential candidate. I liked that Warren’s campaign was willing to implement policies calling for social and political structural changes. I support Warren’s call for a progressive revolution to make a more equitable American society”.