“This election is foundational for the future of our democracy,” said Sam Ruark, a 50-year-old environmental advocate in the hurricane-hit mountains of North Carolina.

“We don’t need another four more years of high inflation, gas prices, lying,” Darlene Taylor, 56, told AFP in Erie, a bellwether county in Pennsylvania.

“I know he has a tough approach, but I think that tough approach helps the world know he means what he says, and I think that’s very important,” said Candyce Sandusky, a 66-year-old teacher in Pennsylvania.

“The main issue for me is the continuation of our democracy,” Ken Thompson, a 66-year-old stonemason, told AFP in Erie, Pennsylvania. “I don’t want an autocrat.”

“I just hope things change with inflation and the job market… but I’m also concerned about bigger questions regarding the country’s future and the direction we’re heading,” said Whytne Stevens, a 28-year-old urban planner in Atlanta, Georgia.

“There’s obviously a lot on the line for people, and having the first woman president would be really cool,” said first-time voter Marcy Davis, 18, in Bristol, Wisconsin.