From Aug. 1 to 14, 2016, Bloomberg reporter Esmé E. Deprez and I traveled from Philadelphia to Los Angeles by Greyhound bus, talking to voters about the upcoming election.
You can read our daily dispatches from the trip at the Bloomberg website.
From Aug. 1 to 14, 2016, Bloomberg reporter Esmé E. Deprez and I traveled from Philadelphia to Los Angeles by Greyhound bus, talking to voters about the upcoming election.
You can read our daily dispatches from the trip at the Bloomberg website.
People wait in the waiting room of the Greyhound Bus Station in downtown Philadelphia, Penn., on Mon., Aug. 1, 2016.
Jennifer Lambert, 27, was riding a bus from Morgantown, West Virginia to Charleston, WV, on a journey trying to get back to her home in Princeton, WV, on Tues., Aug. 2, 2016.
Ronnie Martinez, 61, has been driving Greyhound buses for 25 years, seen here in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Fri., Aug. 12, 2016. He lives in both Grand Junction, Colorado, and Las Vegas, Nevada, and drives the route from Green River, Utah, to Las Vegas.
Seen here outside the bus station near downtown Omaha, Jermaine Cook, 43, rode a Jefferson Lines bus from Kansas City, Missouri, to Omaha, Nebraska, on Sat., Aug. 6, 2016. Cook was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and now lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was traveling to Des Moines, Iowa. He is a Trump supporter in the 2016 presidential election
Harold Hubbard, 53, of Elm Creek, Nebraska, works on the maintenance crew at the Lexington Livestock Market in Lexington, Nebraska, seen here on Tues., Aug. 9, 2016. He is a registered democrat but says he likes "the new guy that's running," referring to Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. He's "just something new, something different," Hubbard said. "Neither of the others are worth a shit. [Johnson] is the lesser of three evils. Trump's just a ball baby bully. He's either bashing somebody, bullying them around, or crying foul. Hillary's just a crook. Ain't gonna sugarcoat it. Neither one have been talking about what they're gonna do for the country."
Crosses stand on the grounds of Suncrest United Methodist Church a block away from bus stops at the Mountaineer Station on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia, on Mon., Aug. 1, 2016.
Kyla McNorton, 21, of Kansas City, Missouri, (from front), Devin Crews, 21, of Hope, Arkansas, and a Navajo man calling himself TIE sleep on a Greyhound bus from Denver to Grand Junction, Colorado, on Wed., Aug. 10, 2016. McNorton was traveling to Frisco, Colorado, to visit family after spending the summer in Colombia. She said she had to walk a ways from the Denver Greyhound Station to find the salad. She said she plans to vote in the 2016 election and will not vote for Trump. She's considering voting for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, saying, "I really want third parties to have a say. I don't like our two party system." But she also said she might vote for Hillary Clinton, "I'm worried that if a third party candidate gets too many votes, it will cause Hillary to lose [and Donald Trump to win]. So if I have to vote for Hillary to keep Trump out, I will." She also said that when traveling in South America over the summer, people would ask where she was from. When she said she was an American, people would bring up Donald Trump immediately. "When I was traveling abroad I would lie about where I'm from, not because of the reputation that gringos have, but because of the current election. I feel bad being represented by [Trump]." TIE said he would not vote, and Crews said he is unsure who he will vote for after having voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary election.
Ron Souchek, 62, works part time for a lawn care company in Lexington, Nebraska, seen here on Tues., Aug. 9, 2016. He was working on the grass at a gas station where Express Arrow cross-country buses stop in Lexington. He is a registered independent and says that right now, he won't vote for either major party candidate. "I wish we had a good third party candidate," he said. "This has got me worried for the country more than any other election. There's a devil and a devil's advocate," he said, referring to both candidates. In 2008, he voted for Obama and in 2012, he voted for Romney. He said he usually votes for republican presidential candidates but didn't like McCain in 2008 because "every time, the Republicans want to go to war." Souchek previously worked in the Air Force. Asked about Trump and Clinton, he said, "I don't think Trump has said a word of truth the entire time. I don't think he's stable to run the country. I don't trust Hillary either. She's a little more stable. I think Pence is good. If he was running for president, I'd vote for him." In the primaries, Souchek said he liked Republican candidate Ben Carson. In the future, he said he might support Marco Rubio.
Haven Hansen, 20, of Encampment, Wyoming, bought food from McDonalds at a Pilot Gas Station in Effingham, Illinois, on Thurs., Aug. 4, 2016. Hansen works as a chop-saw operator at a logging operation in Wyoming. He drove to Indiana with a friend "to get a gal," but got arrested for drunk driving on his first night in the state. He spent 26 days in jail in Lebanon, Indiana. His car was impounded and he decided to abandon it, rather than pay to get it back. He was in the middle of a Greyhound bus trip back to Laramie, Wyoming. The bus stopped at the gas station for a rest and meal break for passengers on the route from Columbus, Ohio, to St. Louis, Missouri.
Food advertisement hang near the cafeteria in the Greyhound station in Kansas City, Missouri, on Sat., Aug. 6, 2016.
A Navajo man calling himself TIE rides a Greyhound bus from Denver to Grand Junction, Colorado, on Wed., Aug. 10, 2016. He said his hair has been uncut for 9 years. He lives in the Four Corners region of the US near Cortez, Colorado, and was returning their after a trip to Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin. He said he was not going to vote in the 2016 presidential election. "I just really don't care about it," he said.
Ramiro Garcia, 44, of Brownsville, Tex., and Rosendo Rivera, 48, (not pictured) pose for a portrait after exiting a bus in Morgantown, West Virginia, on Mon., Aug. 1, 2016. They were traveling to Charleston, WV, where they would work as roofers. The pair travels the country doing roofing work.
A Greyhound bus stands parked next to men selling fruit in Green River, Utah, on Thurs., Aug. 11, 2016.
A waitress lifts a coffee pot at the Little Wonder Cafe in downtown Richfield, Utah, on Fri., Aug. 12, 2016.
Craig Winslow, 58, is a Go Bus driver, seen here at the Greyhound station in downtown Columbus, Ohio, on Wed., Aug. 3, 2016. Winslow is a registered Democrat and has been a bus driver for 27 years. He is originally from Pittsburgh, but now lives in Columbus.
A person wears a Chewbacca outfit on the Las Vegas strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Fri., Aug. 12, 2016.
Thornton King, 69, is a retired truck driver living in Richfield, Utah, seen here in the offices of Intermountain Computer Services on Fri., Aug. 12, 2016.
Jason Carpenter, 34, calls his girlfriend during a bus transfer outside the bus station in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, after riding a Jefferson Lines bus from Kansas City, Missouri, to Omaha, Nebraska, on Sat., Aug. 6, 2016. Carpenter was previously married and has 4 children. He is from Lexington, Kentucky, and works as a general laborer in oil and fracking operations around the country. He was headed from Kentucky to Albert Lea, Minnesota, for the start of a new job in a fracking operation. It was his third time using Greyhound buses to travel. He is a Trump supporter in the 2016 presidential election.
Antoine Meadows, 45, of Hollywood, California, is an Uber and Lyft driver seen here taking a break outside the Greyhound Bus Station in Los Angeles, California, on Sun., Aug. 14, 2016. His last vote in a presidential election was for Barack Obama in 2008, but he is not planning on voting in the 2016 election. "I guess I'm a democrat to an extent," he said. He voted for Obama, he said, because "I wanted to be a part of history. I'd love to be a part of history for Clinton, [but] I'm kind of done with politics." Meadows said he's a strong Christian. "As a Christian, I don't believe the world's gonna get better. Sin is increasing. [That's] the reason for Jesus to come. Me voting or not voting is not going to make a difference. It's not gonna stop the world from getting worse," though he conceded that voting might "slow things down." "Who has made the world better in the last 10 presidents. It was already prophesied in Revelations. God is about to pull out his wrath on the earth because of our sin, and I don't believe voting is going to stop that."
Mark Bowser, 25, rode a Greyhound bus from St. Louis to Kansas City, Missouri, on Fri., Aug. 5, 2016. He was going from Washington, D.C., to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to attend a "hippie festival." He said he has spent the last five years traveling for 8 months of the year between hippie and peace festivals and gatherings, and then spends four months during winter in Florida working in the crab fishing industry. He is seen here walking on his hands in Columbia, Missouri, during a bus rest stop at the Midway Auto Truck Plaza.
Nuridan Nur, 38, is a Somali immigrant living in Lexington, Nebraska, seen here on Tues., Aug. 9, 2016. He said he was the first Somali to open a business in the town, where he has lived for 10 years. His store is called African International Food Store & Restaurant, which he opened in 2008, and he sells a variety of food, clothing, and household goods. Nur left Somalia in 1992 as a refugee and lived in Kenya's Dhadhab Refugee Camp before coming to Omaha, Nebraska, in 2005. Nur is a registered Republican and first voted in Nebraska's local elections in 2015, voting mostly for Republicans. However, he said he will vote for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. "Trump try to push the limit for Muslim people," he said, referring to Donald Trump's controversial plan to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. "In US we need to be united people," he said. "[Hillary Clinton] has good intention for American people. She like to bring all people together: Mexicans, Somalians, whites, blacks, no matter what. We need to work together for everybody. That's what I like about this country."
Tony Strasiser, 21, is a waiter at Mountain State Brewing Company in Morgantown, West Virginia, seen here on Tues., Aug. 2, 2016. He's a biology student at West Virginia University.
Retired corn farmer Byron Holscher, 67, sits at the bar at TEP's Bar and Grill in Lexington, Nebraska, on Mon., Aug. 8, 2016. Holscher said he registered as a Democratic voter in July at the local Dawson County Fair. He was walking on the fairgrounds to go to a stockcar race and a woman asked, "Are you a registered voter?" and he responded "No." So he registered at the fair and now plans to vote for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. "I registered as a Democrat. That's what John F. Kennedy was, and I liked him," he said. "Trump has too many ideas. Hillary visited the troops, and Trump doesn't care. If we get into war, he wouldn't know what to do." Asked why he hadn't registered to vote before, he said "Nobody asked me."
A farmer's market and street fair took over Main Street in downtown Grand Junction, Colorado, on Thurs., Aug. 11, 2016.
Anne Svensson, 25, cares for her daughter Ayari Svensson-Boyd, 5 months old, while riding a Greyhound bus from Baltimore to Pittsburgh, on Mon., Aug. 1, 2016. Svensson lives in Mckeesport, Pennsylvania, and had been visiting family in Delaware. Svensson was adopted from Estonia when she was 10 and now receives welfare and foodstamps.
Tay Daughtery, 14, of Kokomo, Indiana, waits for a bus transfer in the Greyhound station in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Thurs., Aug. 4, 2016. Daughtery was traveling with his brother. They had been visiting family in Florida and were returning home. Asked about the election, Daughtery said, "I don't want Trump to be president."
Mexican-American Flaco Robles, 40, of Montebello, California, is seen here waiting for a city bus outside the Greyhound Bus Station in Los Angeles, California, on Sun., Aug. 14, 2016. Robles said he has never been registered to vote and doesn't plan to register for this election. "Honestly, I just never paid attention to it. I never thought my opinion would count," he said. Asked about whether the election outcome would change his life, he said, "It really doesn't affect me. I'm open to a woman to win. I'm ok with Hillary because it will be the first woman."
A man holds a "Trust Jesus" sign with a crucifix on the Las Vegas strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Fri., Aug. 12, 2016.
Kyla McNorton, 21, of Kansas City, Missouri, rides a Greyhound bus from Denver to Grand Junction, Colorado, on Wed., Aug. 10, 2016. She was traveling to Frisco, Colorado, to visit family after spending the summer in Colombia. She said she had to walk a ways from the Denver Greyhound Station to find the salad. She said she plans to vote in the 2016 election and will not vote for Trump. She's considering voting for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, saying, "I really want third parties to have a say. I don't like our two party system." But she also said she might vote for Hillary Clinton, "I'm worried that if a third party candidate gets too many votes, it will cause Hillary to lose [and Donald Trump to win]. So if I have to vote for Hillary to keep Trump out, I will." She also said that when traveling in South America over the summer, people would ask where she was from. When she said she was an American, people would bring up Donald Trump immediately. "When I was traveling abroad I would lie about where I'm from, not because of the reputation that gringos have, but because of the current election. I feel bad being represented by [Trump]."
Craig Anderson, 78, drank coffee with friends at the Little Wonder Cafe in downtown Richfield, Utah, on Fri., Aug. 12, 2016. Anderson said he will vote for Trump in the 2016 election.
Clarence Allmond, 56, waits for a ride outside the Greyhound station in Kansas City, Missouri, on Fri., Aug. 5, 2016. He was traveling from Washington, D.C., to move to Gladstone, Missouri, where he has family. His niece died about 6 months earlier, and his nephew was murdered in May 2016, and he decided he needed to leave DC to get away from those deaths. Wrapped in paper was a fishing pole given to him by a relative. Asked about the election, Allmond said he was not registered to vote. "I'm just not into politics," he said, "Once they get into office, they just do the same thing."
Sergio Cardona is an Uber driver in Las Vegas, Nevada, seen here on Fri., Aug. 12, 2016.
Palm trees stand above the Las Vegas strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Fri., Aug. 12, 2016.
Remains of a removed Greyhound sign are visible outside the bus station in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, on Sun., Aug. 7, 2016.