GOSHEN — With just under a year remaining until the 2020 presidential election, for semi-retired Goshenite Steven Jarvis, his hopes currently fall squarely in the “Trump” category when it comes to who our nation’s next potential leader might be.
After spending years voting as an Independent, Jarvis, 60, a self-avowed longtime conservative, has in recent years found himself voting under the Republican banner, a fact which he says is due in large part to his being a staunch pro-life advocate.
“I consider myself a conservative first. I’ve always been a conservative,” Jarvis said of his political leanings. “As for why I made the switch to Republican, I consider myself an evangelical Christian. And for me, largely, the biggest issue for me has to do with being pro-life. I look at platforms and where people stand on that issue, and at this point I feel comfortable supporting individuals who are pretty much strictly pro-life as opposed to pro-choice. So that’s the primary reason. Everything else for me has been secondary.”
Steven Jarvis
And given that staunch pro-life stance, Jarvis said looking forward to the 2020 election, he really can’t see himself voting for any other candidate but Trump.
“I am hoping to vote for President Trump, and hoping to vote for Mike Pence,” Jarvis said of his voting plans. “I believe that there have been a lot of changes that have taken place in the country, and I think a lot of the economics have been good. One of the things that is very important to me, and many of the people that I relate to, is that we want a good economy. We want jobs for minorities such as myself and others, and I think it has been a very positive economy for us. So right now I’m looking at the economy, and keeping that going in the same direction, including keeping the taxes down.”
And beyond just wishing and hoping, Jarvis said he feels Trump has a solid chance of taking the win in 2020, barring any unforeseen deal-breakers.
“I mean, there is an impeachment process that is going through, and when that happens, you never know what kinds of things can come up as part of the process and investigation,” Jarvis said. “But at this point, I would say yes, I would say he does have a good chance.”
Speaking of the impeachment process, Jarvis said he personally does not feel Trump has done anything to justify impeachment.
“Whenever you make an attempt to impeach a president, you’re looking for, I think, what they call high crimes and misdemeanors. I’m not sure if those kinds of things have been present,” Jarvis said of the impeachment inquiry. “One of my concerns along those lines is that it appeared that the impeachment talk had started actually shortly after he got elected, and the issues that they’re discussing now didn’t exist then. They’re talking about something different. So my big concern is if there is an additional motivation behind an impeachment process that was discussed before a person even took office, and now you have a different issue with him happening now.
“If there is a crime or a misdemeanor, then a person should be impeached. There is absolutely no question about that whatsoever,” Jarvis added of the issue. “However, I’m not sure that’s present in this case, considering the history that I’ve heard about. So I’d say I’m standing with Trump when it comes to the impeachment inquiry.”
Asked who he feels will likely emerge as the Democratic presidential nominee in 2020, Jarvis said he currently sees Elizabeth Warren as the strongest candidate to date, followed closely by Bernie Sanders.
“At this point, Elizabeth Warren is, I think, in the lead, so she may emerge, because she does seem to have broad appeal. But I believe Bernie Sanders is the most honest, in my opinion, because when it comes to things like raising taxes to pay for programs, he has been consistent for many years. His story hasn’t changed, where as I do find sometimes others will adjust their story or beliefs based on how the politics are going, and what they think people want to hear,” Jarvis said. “Bernie Sanders has not really cared about what you hear. He’s been basically the same all the time. He wants Medicare for all, he wants free college, etc., and he says you’re going to pay for it. If asked if he’ll raise taxes, no one else is really willing to say, but Bernie says ‘Yes,’ and he’ll look you in the eye. So at this point, I would say that the most honest and direct one would be Bernie Sanders. Unfortunately, I think Elizabeth Warren has more general appeal. So I think probably Warren, but it may be a toss up between the two.”
Stepping away from the presidential race for a moment, Jarvis also offered a few thoughts related to whether or not he feels the Democrats will be able to hang on to their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives during next year’s election.
“I think there always seems to be a mix every year. It depends on what the issues are. But I’m thinking at this point, probably overall I think the incumbents are going to be keeping their seats, because the Senate is Republican, and you do have a Republican president,” Jarvis said. “So I think people are going to tend toward, in the House, they’re probably going to retain that and the Democrats will stay in control.”