����vlog

OF WHERE I MIGHT LAND. >> I AM CONSERVATIVE BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN LIMITED GOVERNMENT. >> HOW THE LIVES WE LEAD IMPACT THE CHOICES WE MAKE AT THE POLLS. SOLEDAD: I’M SOLEDAD O’BRIEN. WELCOME TO “MATTER OF FACT." WE’RE HEADING INTO THE FINAL STRETCH OF THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS. AT STAKE, CONTROL OF CONGRESS. WITH TIGHT RACES IN MANY STATES, THE HOT BUTTON ISSUES ARE NO SURPRISE: THE ECONOMY, ABORTION, AND CRIME. AFTER THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, OUR CORRESPONDENT JESSICA GOMEZ EMBARKED ON A ROAD TRIP ACROSS THE MIDDLE OF THE COUNTRY. TRAVELING ALONG I-70, FROM COLORADO TO MISSOURI, TALKING TO PEOPLE ABOUT HOW THEY SEE THEIR PLACE IN AMERICA. NOW, SHE’S PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF. HEADING EAST, FROM ILLINOIS TO MARYLAND. AT EVERY STOP SHE’S TALKING TO VOTERS ABOUT WHAT MATTERS MOST TO THEM. ♪ JESSICA: ABOUT AN HOUR NORTHEAST OF ST. LOUIS. VANDALIA, ILLINOIS ONCE THE STATE CAPITOL, AND THE BIRTHPLACE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S POLITICAL CAREER. >> WHAT I AM DOING IS QUALIFYING THIS MACHINE FOR THIS ELECTION. JESSICA: WITH EARLY VOTING ALREADY UNDERWAY, FAYETTE COUNTY CLERK JESSICA BARKER, DOUBLE CHECKING THE MACHINES, ONE MORE TIME. >> I THINK IF PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD ALL THE CHECKS AND BALANCES. I THINK THEY WOULD BE MORE CONFIDENT IN THE VOTING SYSTEM. ♪ JESSICA: FROM THERE, WE HIT THE ROAD, HEADING EAST TOWARD INDIANA. >> HARD-PRESSED TO FIND A BLACK WOMAN, CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN, CHRISTIAN FROM THE HEARTLAND IN INDIANA. JESSICA: IN INDIANAPOLIS, WE CAUGHT UP WITH 33-YEAR-OLD WHITLEY YATES. >> PEOPLE ARE NO LONGER SAYING YOU LOOK LIKE ME SO I WILL VOTE FOR YOU. IT’S ABOUT WHAT POLICIES YOU HAVE THAT WILL IMPACT PEOPLE LIKE ME. JESSICA: SHE TELLS US IT █WAS HE TRAUMATIC CHILDHOOD THAT SHAPED HER VIEWS ON THINGS. >> I WAS BORN WITH DRUGS AND ALCOHOL IN MY SYSTEM. MY BIOLOGICAL MOTHER WAS TOLD TO IMPORT ME. INSTEAD SHE WENT INTO REHAB. FROM THAT LENS OF BEING GIVEN A CHANCE, I SUPPORT PRO-LIFE. JESSICA: AND HER TIME SPENT IN A STATE-FUNDED CHILDREN’S HOME MADE HER VALUE INDEPENDENCE. >> I NEVER WANTED TO RELY ON THE GOVERNMENT TO LEAD MY LIFE. ♪ >> WHEN I FINALLY BECAME A U.S. CITIZEN, IT WAS A DREAM COME TRUE. JESSICA: NEARBY, AT AN AMTRAK MAINTENANCE FACILITY, 60-YEAR-OLD ECKY RAHIM, AN IMMIGRANT FROM BANGLADESH. AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF HIS UNION, HE BELIEVES IN HARD WORK AND EXPANDING THE AMERICAN DREAM. >> I BELIEVE EVERY HUMAN BEING SHOULD HAVE DECENT HEALTHCARE. AND EDUCATION. POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION. >> THE FAR-REACHING EXTREMISTS, EITHER THEY ARE FAR LEFT OR RIGHT, THEY ARE MOST VOCAL AND GET THE MOST ATTENTION. THAT HAS DRIVEN SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE MORE TOWARDS THE CENTER IN MY OPINION. JESSICA: AS WE LEFT TOWN, WE STOPPED IN ON DAN AND MARY ANN CRISMAN, TO HEAR WHAT’S ON THE MINDS OF FOLKS IN RURAL GREENFIELD. >> ECONOMY CERTAINLY, INFLATION RATE, BEING WHAT IT IS, THE WORKER SHORTAGE AROUND HERE. JESSICA: DAN, AN ENGINEER, AND MARY ANN, A FORMER TEACHER, WHO NOW WORKS FOR HER CHURCH. >> IT SURPRISES PEOPLE WHEN I SAY, I REALLY THINK YOU CAN BE PRO-CHOICE AND PRO-LIFE. IF MORE OF THESE CANDIDATES TOOK THE APPROACH, THAT HEY, I NEED TO APPEAL TO THESE FOLKS WHO ARE RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE, I THINK THEY WOULD CATCH MORE VOTERS THAT WAY. ♪ JESSICA: BACK ON THE ROAD, WE SET OFF FOR THE SWING STATE OF OHIO. >> I AM A MEXICAN AMERICAN, I AM LGBTQ, I AM A LESBIAN, I AM A WOMAN. JESSICA: IN DAYTON, MELISSA RODRIGUEZ. >> THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE FOR ME IS LGBTQ RIGHTS, ESPECIALLY SAME SEX MARRIAGE. JESSICA: RODRIGUEZ SPENT 24 YEARS IN THE AIR FORCE, INCLUDING TWO DEPLOYMENTS. KEEPING HER PERSONAL LIFE A SECRET UNDER THE MILITARY’S DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL POLICY, UNTIL IT WAS LIFTED. >> NOT ONLY CAN THEY JOIN THE MILITARY AND FEEL SAFE TO DO IT, THE WAY THEY INTERACTED, PARTNERS BEING AT AWARDS CEREMONIES, BEING ABLE TO GREET EACH OTHER COMING HOME FROM DEPLOYMENT, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT ME AND MY PARTNER COULD NOT DO. SO, I DON’T WANT TO SEE US GO BACK. >> HONESTLY, WE’RE STRUGGLING. JESSICA: ACROSS TOWN, AT THE DAYTON FOOD BANK, LONG LINES. THE NEED, NEARLY DOUBLE WHAT IT WAS THIS TIME LAST YEAR. SO, TOO, ARE HELENA ADAMS’ GROCERY BILLS. >> IT USED TO COST $150 A WEEK TO FEED ALL FIVE OF US, AND NOW IT IS $300, $350. IT KEEPS GOING UP. IT'S RIDICULOUS. JESSICA: AND THERE’S CARL SCHAEFER, WHO HAS CANCER AND IS ON A FIXED INCOME. >> IN LESS THAN TWO YEARS, IT’S SCREWED UP SO BAD, EVERYBODY, ITS AFFECTED EVERYBODY. JESSICA: AMERICA, IT FEELS AT A CROSSROADS. BUT AS WE HEAD OUT, WE WONDERED, ARE THE LINES THAT DIVIDE US LARGER OR SMALLER THAN WE THINK? SOLEDAD: JESSICA AND HER CREW CONTINUE THEIR JOURNEY ON I-70 NEXT WEEK WITH STOPS IN OHIO,