Primary voters size up Obama and Clinton

In contrast to Gardner, Democrat Nancy Schill in Malvern, Pa. just down the road from West Chester, said, “Hillary kind of turns me off. She’s too pugnacious, I guess you could say. I don’t like the way her campaign has been run. I used to be kind of ambivalent toward her. I never disliked her, but at this point we’re really ready for a change. I’m sick of her already — and she’s not in office yet.”

Nonetheless Schill said she would vote for Hillary Clinton in November if she were the nominee. “I’m a Democrat; I would never vote for John McCain.”

A bellwether county in November
The Chester County results Tuesday night will be a revealing test of Obama’s appeal not only among Democrats, but among centrist Republicans in what may be a very competitive county in the November election.

Tom Curry / msnbc.com Obama supporter Nancy Schill in Malvern, Pa.

Chester County has not gone Democratic in a presidential election since Lyndon Johnson buried Barry Goldwater in the 1964 landslide.

But since the beginning of the year, the Democrats gained 18,010 Chester County voters, with nearly two-thirds of them coming from Republicans crossing over to register as Democrats.

Although some Chester County Democrats worry it was simply a Rush Limbaugh-inspired effort to meddle in the Democratic primary by encouraging Republicans to switch their registration, some Republicans interviewed Tuesday seem genuinely interested in Obama and Clinton.

In Malvern, Pa., registered Republicans Rose Marie Venditti and her husband Frank showed up at the First Baptist Church to vote in local elections but were willing to ponder the November election.

"I am undecided. I just know it’s not going to be McCain for the same old war effort,” said Rose Marie. She said she would probably vote for the Democratic candidate on Nov. 4 “unless they would come up with something that was against what I believe in.” Pressed on what that “something” might be Venditti was non-specific. “Just something that doesn’t strike my fancy.”

Venditti said she did not vote for President Bush either in 2004 or 2000 but still considers herself a Republican and named Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., as one Republican she admired. 

Her husband Frank said he would probably vote for Clinton in November if she is the Democratic nominee.

But as for Obama, Frank Venditti said, “I don’t think he has enough experience. He hasn’t been around long enough to be president. It’s the toughest job in the world. I think he’s only the junior senator from Illinois, if I remember correctly.”

Picking the president: The candidates Click to visit that candidate's MSNBC page or click the XML symbol for an RSS feed. John McCain                Barack Obama

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