Lavea Brachman (57), a Democrat from Colombus, OH, grew up in an observant family with deep moderate-Republican roots. She is an expert on urban policy who cofounded the Greater Ohio Policy Center. She is married to Andrew Smith, also participating in this project, who is a Republican. Brachman’s family owned a paint and resin manufacturing company in Columbus, where Smith is currently CEO.
We are providing the unfiltered opinions of voters interviewed for this project. Those views are based on their understanding and perception of facts and information from a range of sources. In some cases, that information may be misleading or incorrect.
Do the impeachment proceedings hurt or improve Trump’s chances for re-election?
I’m not sure. It could definitely backfire. The Democrats are not playing their cards well here. They have all the facts, the ethics and the Constitution on their side, but as usual they aren’t being calculating (to their credit in some ways) about how to formulate the process and how to message this.
Anything else you’d like to share on the topic of impeachment?
In many ways, the impeachment process is playing right into Trump’s demagoguery and into his and his cronies’ abilities to stoke this country’s divisions, but I’m not sure what else could be done after the whistleblower came forward.
Which Democratic candidate(s) do you think will give Trump the greatest challenge for re-election?
I still think Joe Biden has the best shot among the voting public, although I worry about his debating ability and his ability to respond to Trump’s ruthless and deceitful assertions.