A Year Into Trump’s Presidency, How 3 Suburban Atlanta Voters Are Feeling

A 2017 special election in the 6th Congressional District, which includes Fulton, Cobb and DeKalb, was the most expensive in U.S. history.

So, ahead of the State of the Union address Tuesday night, I asked the same voters I spoke with in 2017 to share their thoughts on that year, and what they’re looking for out of Washington in 2018.

For the most part, they said they see things the same way they did in 2017. But there was a new theme. All the voters, including a die-hard Trump supporter, had concerns about what the president has done since he took office last year.

The Disenchanted, Former Republican

One of the people I talked to in 2017 is a technology consultant in Gwinnett County, and a longtime Republican.

Last year, he spoke freely about how the party’s embrace of Trump made him mad. But now, Jeff doesn’t want me to use his last name. He has a new job and worries Trump’s administration has created an atmosphere where he could be fired for criticizing the president.

“That can put people like me in great danger,” he said. “Maybe not this year, but perhaps next.”

Jeff said Trump is dividing the country. And although a lot of his neighbors in Gwinnett like the new tax law, he’s concerned it will exacerbate income inequality.

For the first time in his life, Jeff said, he hopes Democrats gain control of Congress.

“This is a new thing for me. I would have been fine with a Republican Congress as well as a Republican presidency but not with this presidency,” Jeff said.

The Trump Loyalist

Marisa James is a Republican voter in Cobb County, and she’s upset by what happened in 2017, but she doesn’t blame the White House.

“It’s not Trump,” James said. “It’s the establishment.”

Like last year when we spoke, James is not only frustrated with Democrats, she’s frustrated with Republicans who have split from the president.

The loyal Trump supporter is happy with the new tax law, even though she doesn’t think she’ll benefit.

But James is concerned by the possibility of an immigration deal, and says Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients should be deported.

“It’s not fair, but if we’re going to break that law, then what’s the point of having laws,” James said.

The Democrat 

For George Morgan, DACA recipients need a clear way to become citizens.

Morgan, a Democrat who lives in a Smyrna, didn’t have high hopes for Trump’s first year in office, but he said it’s been worse than what he expected.

“Culturally, I think all of these pressure points that, intentionally, the president seems to be poking at is dangerous,” Morgan said.

Morgan said his Democratic Party “has struggled to find a voice in the midst of the chaos,” but he hopes a big Democratic wave will hit Washington in the 2018 midterms.