Santa Maria voters share thoughts on upcoming congressional election
There are hundreds of thousands of votes Salud Carbajal and Justin Fareed are fighting for.
The district is currently represented by Congresswoman Lois Capps and it encompasses all of Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County and part of northern Ventura County.
Now as election day gets closer, the political ads for this race are becoming non-stop, stretching across multiple media platforms and voters are taking notice.
For some, the political ads are their only perception of the candidates. Voter Bernice Gaon said, “What I’ve seen on television, because I really don’t know these people, I won’t vote for the other guy because he voted for trump so that takes care of him completely.”
Many voters, like Doug Praska, want to know if there’s any truth to what the candidates say in their ads.
“After about one or two times of hearing a particular commercial or advertisement I just try to ignore because by that time, it’s just things I would like to see them prove what they’re saying, but they’re not,” said Praska.
“How truthful are you in your campaigns and what is your true objective in running? Is it about money? Is it about stature?,” voter Don Booker said.
Local voters also want to know how the candidates will address helping the many low income families who live in Santa Maria. “I would like to know what they’re going to vote on for the poor people here in town. For me that’s very important,” said Gaon.
“I’m seeing more homeless people and I’m seeing more younger homeless people than there was in the past, so I think homes for the needy, the lower income people,” Booker said.
Overall, one voter just wants the candidates to address issues and help the community quickly.
“My own experience has been a lot of paperwork and a lot of mucking through things in order to get anything done so I’d like to have things addressed where things can be done in a timely manner,” said voter Lisa Babcock.
Tune in to KCOY and KEYT on Sunday at 6 p.m. as we’ll be hosting both Salud Carbajal and Justin Fareed in a live debate.
