Hillary Clinton Campaign Press Release - Meet 6 of the Voters Behind Hillary Clinton's Super Tuesday Victory

Why these Georgians cast a vote for Hillary on Super Tuesday—in their own words.

Phelina Kulenga

43 years old

Ellenwood, Georgia

Works at a literacy nonprofit

Is there someone in your life who came to mind when you were deciding who to vote for?

My mother came from Africa, to here, just on faith alone. All she had in her pocket was her faith that we were going to have a better life if we came to America. And she said, we're gonna make a better life, and she put her best foot forward. And here we are, 30 years later. It takes one person just to say, "Hey, I can make a change," and then the rest follows. I didn't speak English, my mother didn't speak English, and look where we are now.

Is your mom voting too?

She just registered to vote last year, so this will be her first time to vote. And it will be so historic, being able to vote for the first woman president. I think my mother is one of the strongest people I know. I look up to her. No matter how life punches her or knocks her down, she always gets up, and she never feels sorry or pity for herself.

It's going to be three generations voting. That's amazing. My girls are 22 and 23, so they can actually vote this time. It's going to be quite a moment for us—from apartheid to America, from racism to equality, women's rights, voting rights. It's amazing to think that if we stop and say, hey look, let's just take one step at a time, one foot in front of another, we'll get somewhere. Slowly but surely.

What is it about Hillary Clinton that drew you to her in this election?

Being a woman, being a grandmother, being a mother—it's very important to have someone who understands us and who knows where we want to go and where we have been. When President Obama ran, I was passionate. But Hillary has just lit that fire inside me to want to say, "You know what? It is time to stand for something."

Jasmine Gilles

25 years old

Ellenwood, Georgia

Works for a literary nonprofit (and recent Georgia State University graduate!)

Is there an issue that's front of mind for you in this election?

I'm confessing right now: There is a co-worker I have who is male, who hasn't been working where I work for as long as I have, and I recently found out he was getting paid more than me. Yeah—I was shocked. Hillary is fighting for equal pay. And I'm fighting for equal pay.

What's it going to mean to you to vote for a woman candidate for president?

It's just going to be so huge. I wasn't old enough to vote for Hillary when she was first running in 2008. I was telling my friends that they all had to get out and vote.

I know President Obama is black, and I'm an African-American female, but for women, this is huge, and I think for me to see a woman on that ballot and for me to just go vote for Hillary, I'm just going to throw my heels off.

If you could tell Hillary one thing—anything at all—what would it be?

You go, girl!

Patrick and Patty Chappel

17 and 48 years old

Columbus, Georgia

High school student and administrative assistant at Columbus State University

Patrick, you can't even vote yet. So why are you getting involved in this election?

Patrick: I love to hear the issues, and I volunteer getting other people out to vote. I've done 20 hours of calling, and then I hope to canvass in my region. Even though I can't vote, I just love to be involved in politics.

Patty: I actually take him with me when we go to vote, so that he can see the process. We talk about it. Most of our views are the same, sometimes they are a little different. But at least he's been exposed to it and he can make up his mind for himself. Patrick just seems to have a passion for it. I've always been interested in it, but you know, when it's just yourself, it's kind of hard to drum up the enthusiasm. When you have a child excited about it, you get excited about it, and you get more involved in the process itself. When he got me involved, I thought, man, this is kind of fun.

What's one issue that motivates you to vote this year?

Patty: Hillary wants to put money toward Alzheimer's research. Patrick's grandmother has Alzheimer's, so it's something that hits home. It's hard. It's awful when you see a great mind just wasting away. I just hope this is the next step toward finding a cure—and it's important to our family that Hillary's fighting for this too.

James Gaither

67 years old

Lawrenceville, Georgia

Retired

When did you first realize you were going to vote for Hillary?

Well, I've never had any doubt otherwise—I was supporting her from the beginning, even in 2008. Hillary has always shown a desire to help the downtrodden or help people in general. And I just thought from the beginning that she had the best chance to win the presidency and be a good president.

When you go cast your ballot today, who or what will be on your mind?

The people that I'm thinking about are the next Supreme Court justices. That really is the most important thing in my mind. Our next president selects the next Supreme Court justices. And if it's a Republican, we get a staunch, diehard conservative Supreme Court. And all of our rights that we've gained till now will be gradually just stripped away.

So let's imagine it's January 20, 2017, and a Republican president has just taken the oath of office. What's going through your mind?

Oh Lord, that's a horrible thought.

Well, probably the thing that's going through my mind is Obamacare will probably get repealed, provided that the House and Senate remain Republican. So we'll probably lose Obamacare and go into chaos over what will replace it. We will have eventually higher taxes and all our civil rights and civil liberties will be restricted more than they are. But the Supreme Court—that scares me more than anything.

Chanel Shahnami

Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia State University graduate student

Was there a moment that sparked you to pay attention politics in the first place?

Yes—unfortunately, it was not for the greatest reasons, but because of September 11. My dad's from Iran, and he's a Muslim. So in high school, people didn't say the nicest things, calling me a terrorist, calling me that to identify me as something that they thought my father was. And so because of a lot of discrimination I went through, I turned to politics, to understand what is going on in the world and in the media and why people are saying these heinous things about me. And I took the time to study all the parties, to see which ones my identity and my beliefs fit. My dad's a Democrat, but my mom's a Republican, and I thought that being a Democrat fit for the majority of people—the people who don't have a voice, the people who don't speak English, the people who are coming here because America is a land of opportunity.

What was it like growing up in a mixed political household?

[Laughs.]

My mom was not as in-your-face about it as my dad. But it was great. It was very open—we always talked about things that were going on within the government to keep us educated. My dad grew up in Iran, but he learned a lot about the American government and how the system works. And he thought it was really important for his kids to understand that and be involved and have a voice and express how we feel about what's going on in our country. And my mom's family is from Cuba—so to have that freedom to do that is not something they were able to do. So it's something they take advantage of, and instilled that into us, and really let us be who we want to be. I've been a Democrat, but it's because I was able to choose that and figure out who I am within this society.

Meredith Daniel and Celia

Atlanta, Georgia

Retired computer specialist and student

How long have you been following politics?

Meredith: All my life. My father was in the Georgia legislature when I was a child. It was an interesting time—there were a lot of issues around integration, and my dad fought to keep public schools open. That kind of set the pace and my outlook and views on helping the underserved. And I've always been a Democrat.

And now Celia, my granddaughter, is about to turn 10 years old—but she has always been engaged in current affairs and what's going on. This is part of being a person, a citizen—someone who cares about other people.

What sets Hillary apart from the other candidates in this race?

Meredith: I feel like she has so much experience on the global stage. And that's just important to everybody abroad and at home. I don't think we need a novice trying to figure out how things work. We just need civil dialogue. We need to work together.

What would it mean to you both if there was a woman president?

Celia: That would be awesome! I think she would be a great president. I really like our country the way it is. But if Hillary were running it, it would be even better.

Meredith: Well, I didn't think there wouldn't be a woman president in my lifetime—after all, Margaret Thatcher was elected in the U.K. all those years ago. But for Celia, I think all doors are open to her already, because she knows that they're open and she can follow her dreams. But everything like this makes it a little bit easier.