South Tidewater News

This election cycle, the primary focus has been on the presidential contest, but a Chesapeake resident said he will be voting in each race on his ballot. 

Garrett Humbertson told South Tidewater News that all of the races are important to him this year, including the presidential, statewide and local elections.

"Both of those are big in Virginia this year," Humbertson said. "I think this is a really critical election year. There's a lot of big races, and there's a clear contrast to a lot of different philosophies."

Humbertson is not alone in his belief about the importance of the 2020 elections. Based on data from vpap.org, more than 2.1 million Virginia voters have already cast ballots, compared to 574,872 absentee ballots tabulated in the 2016 election. 

This year's race is so significant for Humbertson that, for the first time, he volunteered to knock on doors for his Congressional candidate, Leon Benjamin, a Republican. 

"I want to take back that district for him and for the party," Humbertson said. The Virginia resident feels that the essential characteristics in a candidate to look for are believing in the Constitution and defending freedom, and that "they're not going to be a servant to the D.C. mindset."

No matter the political party, Humbertson said that candidates should be free thinkers and be in close communication with their constituents. 

"[Candidates] should be mindful of their constituents rather than the donor class or any of the elites in D.C.," Humbertson said, "whether that be lobbyists or the leaders of their own party."

Humbertson's message to those who aren't sure whether they'll vote is that this is a special right that Americans have. 

"The founders of America thought it was important that we the people decide that we have a voice in our government," he said. "That this would be a government of, by, and for the people and not the elites."

The Chesapeake resident said that, if a U.S. citizen really wants to change things, they should participate in their governance. 

"Really, we are the ones who are in charge," Humbertson said.