For the past few weeks, voters in East Mississippi have shared their hopes for the country’s future, including the presidential election, as a global pandemic spreads across the United States. 

Sidney Covington, a businesswoman from Meridian, said she hopes the crisis will make citizens more engaged in politics.

“I think we have a populace that’s not very well-informed by their own choice and I’m hoping that this will awaken people to really examine things, and not just grab the name of a party, but grab the principles and examine those and then get out and express your agreement with those through your vote,” she said.

Covington said she has seen improvements under the current administration and believes President Donald Trump should remain in office.

“I don’t want to stop the ball rolling yet, because people are still improving in their stations,” she said. 

Whoever is elected in November, Covington would like them to focus on affordable medicine.

She cited the high cost for cancer patients’ treatments.

“We have wonderful physicians and nursing staff and all the medical people, but that drug is enormously expensive,” Covington said. “That, I would think, needs to be looked into and controlled in other ways more than it’s been done.”

Leaders should also foster an environment that allows people to work, Covington said.

“I don’t think it’s the job of the government to provide jobs,” she said. “It’s the responsibility of the government to provide an environment that allows jobs to be provided.”

This is the seventh installment of The Meridian Star’s Pulse of the Voters project, an initiative that gauges the political mood in our community. We are conducting grassroots interviews so we can report on the opinions of local voters periodically through the next presidential election. 

The project is being mirrored in communities across the country served by 100 or so CNHI news organizations in similar-sized communities, from Florida to Iowa, from New Hampshire to Texas.

Meridian attorney K. Dustin Markham said the COVID-19 pandemic has made it challenging to assess how the country is doing. 

“It’s very hard to tell and very hard to gauge because we all are attempting to adjust to something, an epidemic that we have not seen before,” he said. 

Markham, a former city councilman and mayoral candidate, said he wants to elect someone who is strong, effective and analytical. 

“I’m traditionally Independent and I vote for the person who has the best platform … and who I believe has the ability to do the best,” Markham said. “I want to see someone who … is going to be professional and able to do the job and who can think outside the box and make adjustments to make things work better for our government.”

President Trump’s political future depends in part on how well he handles the epidemic, Markham said. 

Becky Glover, a community coordinator for Parents for Public Schools and co-president of the League of Women Voters of East Central Mississippi, said she considers one of the most important issues to be public education. 

“Mississippi and the United States have got to start valuing public education because that is the bedrock, the foundation of any successful community or state or nation,” she said. “We can’t function as a society and have representative government for all people if we’re not willing to educate all people well and equitably.”

She expressed frustration with what she called “hard line partisan” politics. 

“I’m more than just a little disturbed by all of the tribalism,” she said. “If we don’t start listening to each other and trying to understand each other’s perspectives, then I don’t know that any other issue really matters more than that, not to me.”

Kevin Lewis, the owner of Jenkins Barber Shop, joined in Glover’s call for unity. 

“I think we’re more divided now than we ever have because we need to be one as a people, one as a country and I think this coming election is going to be really, really interesting,” he said. 

He would like to see a focus on education, jobs and infrastructure and called Joe Biden the best candidate. 

“He knows politics. He’s been in office. He knows the ins and outs of the office and I think he’ll make a good president. He was a good vice president.”

Tyler Norman, chairman of the Lauderdale County Republican Party, said he hopes Trump keeps his seat. 

“I think it’s gone well except for the last two weeks, which has not really been his fault,” he said. “I think he’s done a fantastic job and really hope to see him get reelected. His leadership is crucial right now and he’s proven to be successful.”

The economy will continue to be a top issue, especially as the country faces the pandemic, Norman said. 

“I think that’s definitely going to be the main thing, is making sure that there’s enough care to react to this crisis, to make sure that people get back to work.”