华盛顿州的克拉伦县——克拉伦县离华盛顿特区最远，但在过去的40年里，该县已经选择了每一个总统获胜者。
截至2016年，自1980年以来，该国3000多个县中至少有19个选出了每一位获胜者，但其中18个当选为总统唐纳德·特朗普今年。克拉伦县，在哪里当选总统乔·拜登被选为获胜者，现在是唯一的幸存者。
同样令人印象深刻的是，华盛顿州偏僻的西北角在上个世纪只给落选的候选人投过两次票:1968年和1976年。
美国广播公司新闻
展望华盛顿洛杉矶港的加拿大。
这种现象在很大程度上是一个谜，但部分答案在于该县的人口结构，即共和党人、民主党人和摇摆选民的健康组合，如餐馆老板扬·约翰逊。约翰逊的投票记录与她所在县的部分记录相符。2004年，她先后两次投票给乔治·布什、巴拉克·奥巴马、特朗普，最近一次是拜登。
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餐馆老板扬·约翰逊谈到她为什么在这次选举中投票给乔·拜登&什么
约翰逊告诉美国广播公司新闻，“我通常用我的心来投票，以及当时该县的状况。”。“我投票支持的人可能是我认为最适合这种情况的人。”
她的县代表也完美地代表了该地区的政治范围。这三名委员包括一名民主党人、一名共和党人和一名独立派人士。
美国广播公司新闻
华盛顿州克拉伦县的民主党、共和党和独立委员会成员与美国广播公司新闻公司交谈
委员们将该县左右国家方向的能力归因于它的半地理位置，这可能会迫使人们对不同的思想有更大的容忍度。
“我们如此偏远，如此相对孤立，我们的国家有着独立和创造力的真实历史，”克拉伦县民主党专员马克·奥齐斯说。
“我们有一个光谱，缺少的是人们只能按照他们的方式，而不是任何其他方式，”克拉伦县共和党专员比尔·皮奇说。
委员们说，就像他们的领导人走到一起一样，持不同意见的居民也是共存的。
“尽管有人可能一边有特朗普的签名，有人可能一边有拜登的签名...克拉伦县独立专员兰迪·约翰逊说:“人们聚集在一起，为社区和他们的需求而工作。
该社区正经历着与全国许多其他社区一样的斗争。被...弄残废了新冠肺炎(新型冠状病毒肺炎)流行病，经济在边缘徘徊。
约翰逊说:“现在有太多的企业几乎无法生存。”。
Clallam的港口现在大部分与邻国加拿大隔绝，只有很短的车程和渡船才能到达受灾严重的西雅图。一整个夏天的旅游现在已经失去了。
“我担心，如果没有任何重大的联邦救济，我们将看到许多小企业消失，”桃子说。
但在今年的民调中，经济并不是唯一的驱动因素。
资深当地报纸记者保罗·戈特利布说，特朗普本人也成为了该县的首要问题。
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美国广播公司新闻记者佐林·沙阿与半岛日报记者保罗·戈特利布会谈
“他们对特朗普总统很不满，这次他们不会投票给他，所以我认为...正如国家迹象表明的那样...戈特利布说:“选举主要是关于特朗普总统的，这是我们反映全国情绪的另一种方式。
随着新冠肺炎病例激增，该地区最紧迫的问题变得更加明确:摆脱这场流行病。
冠状病毒对约翰逊来说太接近她的家了，她认为不值得让她的餐馆继续营业。她想给特朗普一个机会和她的选票，但当病毒袭击她的家人时，这是她最后的稻草。
“他出来说没什么...那时，我想，你知道，你没有同理心。美国正在灭亡。美国正在挣扎，”她说。
现在，思想独立的社区希望华盛顿的新领导层可能会让生活变得简单一点，但他们中的许多人仍然对2024年投票给拜登持怀疑态度。
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华盛顿洛杉矶港的标牌上写着“感谢我们的英雄”
“这取决于他在这四年里做了什么，”约翰逊谈到拜登时说。“但你知道，我做的任何事都不仅仅是为了我自己，而是为了国家。我们都是美国人，所以我们需要再次团结起来。”
This US county has correctly picked every presidential winner since 1980
CLALLAM COUNTY, WA -- Clallam County is about as far from Washington, D.C., as you can get, but for the last 40 years, the county has picked everypresidential winner.
As of 2016, at least 19 of the country's more than 3,000 counties had chosen every winner since 1980, but 18 of them went for PresidentDonald Trumpthis year. Clallam County, wherePresident-elect Joe Biden was chosen as the winner, is now the lone survivor.
Also impressive is the fact that the secluded northwest corner of Washington state has only voted for the losing candidate twice in the last century: in 1968 and 1976.
The phenomenon is largely a mystery, but part of the answer lies in the county's demographic, which is a healthy mix of Republicans, Democrats and swing voters, like restaurant owner Young Johnson. Johnson's voting record matches part of her county's. In 2004, she voted for George Bush, then Barack Obama, twice, then Trump, and most recently, Biden.
"Typically I vote with my heart, and the state of the county at that time," Johnson told ABC News. "The person I voted for probably is the person I thought would best fit that situation."
Her county's representatives also perfectly represent the region's political range. The three commissioners include a Democrat, a Republican and and Independent.
The commissioners attribute the county's ability to sway the direction of the country to its semi-location, which perhaps forces a greater tolerance of different ideas.
"We are so remote and so relatively isolated, our county has a real history of independence and creativity," Clallam County Democratic Commissioner Mark Ozias said.
"We've got a spectrum, and what's missing is people that just have to have it their way and not any other way," Clallam County Republican Commissioner Bill Peach said.
Much like the way their leaders come together, the commissioners say residents with differing opinions also co-exist.
"Even though someone may have a Trump sign up on one side and someone may have a Biden sign up the next ... people all come together to work for the community and what the needs are," Clallam County Independent Commissioner Randy Johnson said.
The community is going through the same struggles as many others across the country. Crippled by theCOVID-19pandemic, the economy is teetering at the edge.
"There are so many businesses just barely hanging on right now," Johnson said.
Separated by a short drive and ferry ride to hard-hit Seattle, Clallam's port is now mostly cut off from neighboring Canada. An entire summer of tourism has now been lost.
"I am concerned that without any significant federal relief, we'll see a lot of small businesses disappear," Peach said.
But the economy wasn't the only driving factor at this year's polls.
Veteran local newspaper reporter Paul Gottlieb said Trump himself also became a top issue for the county.
"They were upset with President Trump and they were not gonna vote for him this time, so I think that ... as national indications have shown ... the election was largely about President Trump, and that's another way that we reflected the national mood," Gottlieb said.
With COVID-19 cases surging, the most pressing problem in the area has become even more clear: getting out of this pandemic.
The coronavirus hit so close to home for Johnson, she decided it wasn't worth keeping her restaurant open. She wanted to give Trump a chance and her vote, but when the virus hit her family, it was the final straw for her.
"He came out and said it was nothing... and at that point, I thought, you know, you have no empathy. America is dying. America is struggling," she said.
Now, the independent-minded community hopes new leadership in Washington might make life just a little easier, but many of them still have doubts about voting for Biden in 2024.
"That depends on what he does in the four years that he has," Johnson said of Biden. "But you know, anything I do is not just for myself but it's for the country. We're all Americans, so we need to unite again."
