“I don’t drive. I take the bus everywhere because I can’t afford to own a vehicle.”
For voters in Dundalk, Maryland, the concerns shaping this November’s midterm election are familiar ones: rising gas prices, crime and immigration.
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“It’s crazy out here. Grocery inflation is crazy. You pick up five or six items and it’s almost $300. You can’t survive out here,” said TJ, a local resident.
But as prices continue to climb, voters remain divided over who is responsible.
“If Trump was able to run again, I’d vote for him. I like the way he does things. I’d rather have a businessman than a politician in office. You get more truth from a businessman than you would from a politician,” he said.
TJ said he admires Donald Trump’s approach and would vote for him again
Dundalk is a Republican-leaning community in a largely Democratic state, and President Donald Trump carried the town in all three presidential elections.
Conversations with residents suggest that some Republicans remain comfortable with the party’s direction, even as the GOP is expected to lose ground nationwide in this year’s midterm elections.
Mike, an Italian-American who emigrated from Sicily more than seven decades ago and has lived in Dundalk for over 35 years, said religion and the economy would bring him to the polls. He also expressed concern about the prospect of a socialist state.
“This country was founded on Christianity and capitalism. I think it should remain that way,” he said.
Dundalk sits beside the former Sparrows Point steel site, once a powerful emblem of American industrial strength.
After the steel mill shut down more than a decade ago, the site was redeveloped as a logistics and manufacturing hub.
Restoring manufacturing jobs in communities like Dundalk has been a cornerstone of President Trump’s economic message during his term, helping explain why he brought his midterm campaign tour to Maryland this week.
Dundalk is a Republican-leaning town in a mostly Democratic state
Last night, he stopped at Sparrows Point to promote a $3.7 billion investment from military technology company Anduril, which plans to build components for nuclear-powered submarines at a shipyard in the Baltimore area.
“A tremendous victory for our country and for the city of Baltimore. This massive project will create over 3,100 new jobs right here in Maryland and support an additional 11,000 jobs across the nation,” Mr Trump said.
His October campaign blitz will run for 32 days, with stops planned in Oklahoma, Alabama, Ohio, Texas and Nebraska as he seeks to strengthen Republican prospects ahead of voting.
Democrats are favoured to regain control of the House, though their majority is expected to be narrow. The Senate, too, remains within their reach.
For some long-standing Republican voters in Dundalk, however, a decade of loyalty to Mr Trump appears intact, even as his national approval rating has fallen to a record low.
Polls put President Trump’s approval rating at 32%, while his support among Republicans remained at 73% in a September survey.
Tim said the Democratic Party had abandoned blue collar workers
Tim, who works in Dundalk, is among those voters.
“I think the Democratic Party has let down the blue-collar worker,” he told RTÉ News over breakfast at Boulevard Diner, a local restaurant.
“I think Mr Trump is trying to bring manufacturing back into this country. The America First plan, let’s put it that way… worry about ourselves,” he added.
How do Maryland voters feel about the GOP’s first two years in power?
