In North Dakota, Donald Trump's win is assured even if his fandom has softened

Phil Hall says putting upelection signs, trumpeting his support forDemocrats in hisdeeply red state, has become a morning ritual for him and his wife.

He brings those same signs into his Pembina, N.D.,home every nightbecause he fears a thief will steal them again.

"I already knew we had a few bad apples here," he said.

Hall isa proud Democrat surroundedby Republicans in a border town of 500 people.

"Some are nice," he said, highlightingone neighbourhe speaks withalmost every day, "and we havesome not-so-nice [neighbours] where we have nothing to say to each other."

The strain of a contentious presidential election in the United States, concluding with Tuesday's vote,hastested relationsinthe country's neighbourhoods, even in states like North Dakota, where theresult is a forgone conclusion.

Manitoba's southern neighbour is so reliably Republican, it hasn't voted a Democrat for president since 1964, when Lyndon Johnson won all but six states in a historic sweep for his party.

Trump won handily in 2020

In fact, in the 2020 election, Republican nominee Donald Trump won the popular vote by a margin of 33 percentage points the third-highest margin of any U.S. state.

And yet, Hall, a retired military employee, refuses to be a Democrat-in-hiding.

Rather, he'dstop anybody who tries to silence him. If a thief jumpshis fence in the dead of night to steal his"democracy over dictatorship" sign, they may walk ontothe metal endof a strategically placed rake.

"I already know North Dakota is going to goTrump's way," he said.

If so, the Republicans would take the three electoral college votes that North Dakota provides, out of the270 needed to secure the presidency.

Hall said hecannot cast his ballot for the Republicansbecause Trump isa convicted felon who allegedly called military members who've died in wars"suckers" and "losers," among other reasons.

While other households in Pembinaproudly waved Trump flags and put up signs, the large majority of homes kept anypolitical affiliations to themselves.

Mark Jendrysik, a political science professor at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, said he isn't seeing the same overt displays of Trump fandom he saw duringthe former president's first and second bids for the White House.

With Trump'swin in North Dakotaexpected, Jendrysiksaid he assumespeople are thinking there's "probably no need to go all out" for his third run for the presidency, "but I do wonder if it is a sign of some waning enthusiasm."

North Dakotans will still vote for Trump overwhelmingly, Jendrysik said. He said many people in the state are conservatives who bristle at how they're perceived by the rest of their country.

"They're a tiny state, but it's one of the major energy-producing states, major agricultural states," he said.

"I think there's a desire on the part of North Dakotans to be recognized for that, to be noticed."

The Republican Party, and particularly Trump, are seen as their champion, Jendrysik said.

Dylan Vukelichfinds Trump supporters whenever he wears his white hat,embossedin gold lettering with the phrase, "Trump Force Captain."

"Peoplegive me the thumbs up while they're driving by," Vukelich said. "Even inStarbucks, they're like, 'Hey, love your hat.'"

In the last year, the 28-year-old'sbecome an avid Republican volunteer, supporting Trump in the presidential race but also Republican candidates in various down-ballot races inFargo, where he lives, and in neighbouring Moorhead, Minn.

He's unfailingin his endorsement of Trump's first term inoffice, even in the face of criticism around some of his policies andrhetoric.

"If anyone has any concerns, I'd just say to look at the person. Look at all the great things he's done as president: no newwars, helping get the economy up, great trade agreement."

Abdikarim Mohamed isn't convinced, however.

A Muslim, the Somaliimmigrantsaid he cannot support Trump, whom he described as an "unpredictable" man who once imposed a travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries.

But Mohamed said he cannot endorse the Democrats, either. He votedfor Joe Biden forpresident four years ago, but since then,the cost of living has soared, and he's disappointed the United States has spent billions of dollars helping Ukraine in its war with Russiawhile it hasn't stopped Israel'sassault on Gaza.

Due to "all of these issues combined," Mohamed said, "I've decided to switch to the Green Party."

He knows his vote won't change who becomes president, but he wants the Greens to become a viable third party with the ability to shape the outcomes of future elections.

Back in the border town of Pembina, Hall said he'll accept the outcome of Tuesday's vote like he's accepted his place in town, as a Democrat in a staunchly Republican community.

"It's fine with me, because I knowthere's other places in this country that it's just the opposite."

In North Dakota, Trump's win is assured even if his fandom has softened

10 days ago

Duration 2:11

A trip down the I-29 shows North Dakotans aren't monolithic in their views. But Republicans remain the preferred choice of many in this deeply red state, even if there are fewer overt displays of Trump fandom this time around, according to a political scientist in the state.