‘We’ll fight until the end.’ SLO County residents rally for Trump at #StopTheSteal events
San Luis Obispo County saw events on both ends of the political spectrum Sunday afternoon, as community members either celebrated President-elect Joe Biden’s victory or protested the vote count and rallied behind President Donald Trump.
The events reflect a political divide in the county. Nearly 58% of local voters cast their ballot in favor of Biden, while 40% voted for Trump, according to unofficial election results released by the county Clerk Recorder’s Office on Nov. 6.
Those in favor of another four years of Trump’s presidency hosted #MAGADragTheInterstate and #StopTheSteal events centered at five different cities across the Central Coast: Atascadero, Grover Beach, Paso Robles, Santa Maria and Templeton. Attendees met up at 1 p.m. at locations in each of the cities and then drove around.
“The media has declared that Biden has won and they cannot declare that,” Paso Robles resident Tammy Gillett said at Sunday’s Paso Robles event. “The Republican party feels we were cheated. ... We want to wait until the results are final. We’ll fight until the end.”
Cars decked out in American flags as well as ones bearing “Trump 2020” and “Thin Blue Line” designs, paraded single file around the cities. Some cars had windows painted with slogans such as “America First,” or had stickers on the sides saying “Stop the Count,” or “Hey Joe you’re not elected.”
“The votes are not all in,” Paso Robles resident Kevin Mann said at the Paso Robles event. He also questioned the legitimacy of the votes getting counted, saying, “It just needs to get checked out.”
In downtown San Luis Obispo, people celebrated the projected victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the 46th president and vice president-elect, respectively, of the United States.
That event, which was scheduled to start at around noon., featured live music by DJ Brotha C.
This story was originally published November 8, 2020 at 2:31 PM.
