What Westminster Really Thinks About the US Presidential Election – POLITICO

While Massachusetts is a safely Democratic state and therefore not a crucial battleground in this election, the 8,000-person city of Westminster is a key community that tends to swing with the national winner.

In 2016, when Trump won the White House for the first time, Westminster backed the controversial businessman with 2,165 votes over 1,958 for his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. But in 2020, when current President Joe Biden defeated Trump nationally, Westminster again chose the winner, by 2,665 votes to 2,477.

This schism is one of the few similarities between Westminster, Massachusetts, and its namesake, more than 3,000 miles around the world: Britain’s political epicenter in London.

“It’s quite divided in the city,” says an American shop owner in Westminster, who asked not to be named. “I don’t think people are ripping off each other’s faces, but it’s definitely politically charged there.”

Scores of residents blame the media for fueling similar divisions in the United States, while admitting they look for channels that align with their own views to receive the news.

O’Toole watches pundits on Fox News, but Howland demands a change of channel when Fox plays at the bars she visits.