On Saturday, Oct. 26, supporters of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump showed their support for their respective candidates at the intersection of Route 27 and Route 20. The people standing at the intersection were encouraging passing drivers to honk their horns or cheer out of their cars in support of their candidate. The rallies were locally organized and brought together by citizens of Wayland and surrounding towns.
The Trump supporters organize themselves on the Massachusetts for Trump website. Supporters may join the email list to receive alerts about upcoming rallies. This was not the first Trump rally in Wayland, as they have been showing up at the intersection throughout the fall on some weekends.
“I’m a member of a Republican town committee in a surrounding town, so we go to these things,” anonymous Trump Supporter #1 said. “This is probably, probably the fourth one I’ve been to in the last couple of months”
Trump supporters at the rally chose to stay anonymous for interviews but had the unanimous understanding that they felt at a disadvantage in the state of Massachusetts.
“Middlesex County is not exactly a hotbed of the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement,” anonymous Trump supporter #2 said. “I have a Trump flag that I put on my car, and the feedback I get is almost universally positive. So it’s a lot of people who live here, I think it’s going to be 35-40% Trump when in Middlesex county, but people are afraid to be overt supporters of him.”
Although Massachusetts has consistently voted for Democrats in past presidential elections, Trump supporters at the rally feel that it’s necessary to be open about their political opinions in Wayland.
“I think it’s important not for a show of force, but a demonstration that people are not alone in what they think,” anonymous Trump supporter #2 said. “With Harris-Walz signs, as far as the eye can see, that’s not reflective of the real proportion.”
Next to the group of Trump supporters was a smaller group of Harris supporters that were using the same tactics as the Trump supporters to gain attention from people passing by. The two groups had minimal interaction with each other. Both groups faced struggle holding up signs supporting their candidates.
“We see people drive by and they, you know, they roll down the window, they extend both middle fingers at us, like take their hands off the wheel,” anonymous Trump supporter #1 said. “But you know what? I have no problem with [the group of Harris supporters]. Those people are Americans doing what we have the right to do as an American, the same as we have a right to do what we’re doing as Americans.”
One difference between the two groups was that the group in support of Harris had multiple kids along with the other adults. The kids were spread around the intersection with signs that read things such as “Vote Kamala Harris.” Harris supporter Jillian Kohl stood with her mom and kids at the intersection and expressed her opinions on the importance of kids being a part of political activity in town.
“Yeah, I think it’s really important for [kids] to see and I think it’s really important for them to see this kind of advocacy and this kind of work, so it inspires them,” Kohl said. “I’m here with my mom, and we used to do this when I was growing up, so I think it’s really great for all of you to see the different generations of support.”
Another difference between the two groups was that the Harris supporters organized the rally through word of mouth and texts, as opposed to an organization.
“We were sitting at our daughters’ softball game, a few of us talking last weekend about this, about the fact that [Trump supporters] are always out here, and we thought, oh, if no one else is standing there, then it has to be us,” Kohl said. “We have to be the ones, and so we sent text messages around.”
Rallying isn’t the only form of support that the Harris group participates in. Wayland resident Victoria Walton joined “Vote Forward,” a non-profit organization that encourages people to vote.
“We’ve also gotten together and written ‘get out and vote’ letters to voters in swing states,” Walton said. “There’s an organization called Vote Forward that I started writing for after the 2016 election, and was feeling very depressed. I decided I didn’t do enough to make sure that that election came out the way that I wanted to. So I got engaged and got my friends, including Jillian Kohl, to help write letters to voters in battleground states to encourage them just to vote. We weren’t telling them to vote for a particular candidate, we were just telling them to get out and vote.”
All of the interviewees, regardless of political affiliation, feel that it is important that members of the younger generations vote. Although most of Wayland’s voters are not in high school, some members of the senior class at WHS will be casting their ballots.
“I want every kid in Wayland High School to understand how important it is to vote,” Walton said. “And again, I don’t care what or who you vote for. I would love for you to be educated and just vote [based on] your conscience and think about somebody other than yourself, but more importantly, vote.”
Jodi • Nov 4, 2024 at 7:10 PM
I’m so happy to see this article. The writers did a great job of getting the perspective from people with different viewpoints. Nice job WSPN!