PORT ANGELES — In a far corner of the continental U.S., amid the salty air and green-carpeted mountains of the Pacific Northwest, lies a unique place with an unparalleled record of political precision.
Clallam County, which takes its name from its Indigenous peoples, has voted for the winner in every presidential election since 1980. If you go back to 1920, the losing candidate has carried the county just twice; the last time was nearly half a century ago.
That’s a streak unmatched by more than 3,000 other counties in America and lends a certain weight to views expressed in this political bellwether — which, despite its location, reflect the passions and polarization that make this presidential race among the most contentious in modern history.
Good luck trying to figure out who wins the White House in November.
Neither Donald Trump nor Kamala Harris appears to be running away with the contest here. In dozens of interviews across this lush slice of the Olympic Peninsula, support for the two was just about evenly split. Events that might have given someone pause or pried loose a shaky partisan or two — the attempted assassination of Trump, Harris’ strong debate performance — have evidently passed with nary a ripple.
Voters weren’t just dug into their positions. Many couldn’t fathom how anyone could possibly think any differently.
William Lewis didn’t watch much of the Trump-Harris face-off. There was no point.
“I didn’t learn anything I don’t already know,” he said of the few minutes he did tune in.
Besides, Lewis already knows who he’s voting for. He’s a Trump supporter.
Inflation keeps gnawing at his wallet, and there’s no question in his mind that it’s become much tougher in the last few years just to get by — something Lewis keenly felt as he headed into the supermarket in Forks, the sodden setting of the “Twilight” books and movies.
“Anybody that doesn’t see that, I don’t know what they’re looking at,” said the 73-year-old retiree, a former heavy equipment mechanic.
Jeanne Viramonte agreed with Lewis on one thing: She thought the debate was pretty much a waste of time, but only because she can’t stand the sight of the GOP nominee.
“His views on women are horrible,” said Viramonte, 74, a Harris backer who runs the espresso shop on the Quileute Indian Reservation in La Push. “So, no, I’m not going to watch him. I’m not going to vote for him. Anybody that votes for Trump must be stupid.”
The secret of Clallam County’s bellwether status apparently lies in the rough political balance among its three small population centers.
Democrats tend to fare best in Port Angeles and nearby Sequim, located in the county’s less-rainy eastern half. Forks and a smattering of tiny coastal communities — set off by themselves down a long and winding two-lane road — lean to the right.
“There’s a far amount of distrust of both political parties and what kind of nonsense they’re trying to sell us,” said Sam Grello, the 37-year-old head of the Port Angeles Waterfront District, a business improvement group. “The bottom line is ultimately who will help our community the most. Are you willing to look at what the problems are and deal with them? Or are you an ideologue? Do ideas or people come first?”
For the past several decades, a changing cast of locals has met once a week at the Port Angeles Senior & Community Center to discuss issues and weigh current events. Recently, 18 of them gathered to talk about Trump vs. Harris.
The differences were stark and — save for the occasional groan, eye roll or sarcastic snicker — politely received. Trump is slimy. Harris is slippery. And so on.
After about an hour, as the discussion began winding down, 65-year-old David Fox relayed a voicemail he’d gotten from two regulars, Ileanna and Mike. The couple had to miss the meeting but happily reported seeing an abundance of Harris signs on their 80-mile drive to Seattle.
Hopefully, Fox said, that augurs well for the vice president in November. And, he noted, if Harris wins the White House and pulls off a victory here, that will extend Clallam County’s political bellwether status for another election cycle.
That made Democrats around the table smile.
Mark Z. Barabak is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, focusing on politics in California and the West.
