U.S. citizens must reside in any of the 50 states to be able to vote for president.
Local Republicans voted for the nomination of McCain, a Vietnam War hero, during the GOP’s National Convention, but some are actually hoping for Obama’s victory due to concerns over the nation’s economy.
Polls show Obama leading McCain and the Democrat is widely expected to become the nation’s first African-American president.
“If I can vote for the U.S. presidential election, I would vote for Obama. He’s young and energetic,” said Jessica Guerrero. “I like his economic platform.”
“We would soon have a delegate in the U.S. Congress — who knows in the future we may be able to vote in the U.S. presidential election,” she added.
Another voter said he would like to vote for Obama because he’s very down-to-earth and genuinely looks after the underprivileged.
Most indigenous people interviewed by this reporter said they support Obama.
They believe that his biracial upbringing and exposure to island life in Hawaii would help him understand better their situation in the CNMI.
Rep. Diego T. Benavente, the chairman of the House Committee on U.S. and Foreign Relations, supports McCain.
“He still has a chance. He’s a maverick. He’s not an extension of President Bush,” he said.
Another McCain supporter who asked not to be named, said the war veteran would make sure that military projects continue, thereby, giving more jobs and opportunities for the islands and other U.S. insular areas.
Still, others don’t care who wins the U.S. presidential election.
“It’s never been a problem for us. We go by levels [in Washington, D.C.] What I am waiting for is the result of the court’s decision on the CNMI’s lawsuit in Washington, D.C. Nobody has come up with a study yet whether the labor provisions should apply here. It’s like going to another doctor to seek a second opinion,” a local resident said.
The Fitial administration, for its part, is welcoming any change in the White House.
Three U.S. chief executives — all Republicans — left lasting legacies in the CNMI’s political history: President Gerald Ford, who signed the islands’ Covenant with the U.S. in 1976; President Ronald Reagan, signed the executive order granting U.S. citizenship to the islands’ indigenous people; and President George W. Bush, who signed the measure extending federal minimum wage and immigration laws to the islands.
