Georgia voters throw their peanuts to Trump
Published 10:21 am Friday, October 9, 2015
- Josh Waters with the Georgia Secretary of State's Office counts the peanuts from Donald Trump's jar during the Peanut Poll at the Georgia National Fair in Perry.
PERRY, Ga. – The polls had only been open for an hour, and Donald Trump’s jar was filling up fast with peanuts.
Debra Osborne, a Dalton resident, said her “hope for humanity” rode on that trend not continuing throughout the course of the new Peanut Poll at the Georgia National Fair, which started Thursday.
“You can’t be a hot-head and be president,” said Osborne, who tossed her goober into the undecided jar.
But when “polling stations” – Mason jars arranged in alphabetical order on tables – closed on the first day of the fair, the billionaire had, in fact, won handily.
Of nearly 460 people who voted, about 38 percent cast a peanut for Trump. Ben Carson, a pediatric neurosurgeon, came in second with about 24 percent of the peanuts.
Nearly all candidates – even Joe Biden, who has not announced whether he’ll run – found fans at the fair.
Lincoln Chafee, the former U.S. senator and governor of Rhode Island, was “still looking for his first vote,” noted guest announcer Gary Black, the state’s agriculture commissioner. For that matter, so were Republicans Georgia Pataki and Jim Gilmore.
For Democrats, Hillary Clinton ended the day with 64 legumes stacked up in her jar.
The poll – Georgia’s answer to Iowa’s corn caucus – may seem like a grade school exercise. There are few, if any, rules. Several children voted, and there’s nothing to stop someone from voting more than once.
Still, the poll is not without meaning, said David Dove with Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office.
“It’s not scientific, but it’s a barometer of where people are,” he said.
Goobers are tallied each day, with a final count announced after the fair winds down Oct. 18. The results can be tracked daily at peanutpoll.com.
Kemp has been touting the poll as a way to drum up interest for the so-called “SEC Primary” on March 1, when voters in several southern states will choose nominees.
He’s also been trying to recruit candidates to make appearances at the middle-Georgia fair, which a half-million people are expected to visit over the next week or so.
As of Thursday, no candidate had committed, Dove said.
But clearly there are a few candidates whom poll participants would like to see.
Trump, who has lost some of his lead in recent polls, found plenty of enthusiastic fans on the fair’s first day.
Many cited his candor as a key reason for their support.
Jimmy Kitchens, who lives in Coffee County, said Trump may not be diplomatic, but that’s fine with him.
“It’s time to step over the line,” he said, echoing a sentiment expressed often at the fairgrounds Thursday.
Dan Purvis, who lives near Dublin, said he likes that “ol’ big mouth Donald,” as he calls him, “says what he means and tells it like it is.”
He also believes that Trump will improve the economy and address immigration, although he’s not so sure about that plan to build a wall along the Mexican border.
Still, Purvis said he believes Trump is losing voters because he’s not being specific enough on issues and he’s spending too much time criticizing other candidates.
Like Purvis, Dennis Nichols, of Rabun, likes Trump because he’s outspoken.
But when he lent his peanut to Trump’s camp Thursday, Nichols’ wife, Rhonda, said she’d set him straight before the March 1 primary.
To her, Trump is “too outspoken” and lacks tact.
“I haven’t decided yet, but it won’t be Trump,” she said.
He countered, “If you want America back on its feet, it better be Trump.”
Jill Nolin covers the Georgia Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach her at jnolin@cnhi.com.