Debate watching parties took place across the country Monday night, including one in Spokane, Washington, where the politics are decidedly purple. Spokane’s weekly newspaper, The Inlander, hosted the event.
“The city here is pretty Democratic, it’s pretty blue,” Inlander Editor Jacob Fries said. “As a county, generally with more rural areas, we tend to see more Republican strong holds.”
The reasons people turned out to the watch party were mixed. Some saw it as a civic duty while others were just celebrating the fact that there was a political even.
“I don’t know. I’m curious,” Spokane resident Shane Collins said. “I’m curious to see how people react and it seems like we have a lot from both parties here.”
About halfway through this debate, some attendees said they already felt more informed.
“Definitely more informed. Definitely more sure of Trump,” said Sydney Connor from Spokane. “I think that Hillary is going to ruin small businesses and I love small businesses. That’s what small communities thrive on.”
Plenty of voters still have yet to make up their minds, but will take their time to do so.
“I still haven’t processed a lot of what just happened,” Collins said. “I am not necessarily disappointed. I wanted a lot more information and I hope to get that and I hope to get that in the next couple debates for sure.”