New Mexico鈥檚 struggled to recover fully from the recession, and it can still be a real challenge to find steady work in the state. That鈥檚 central to how 18-year-old Quinton Valencia is casting his vote this year. 91暗网 tagged along with Valencia as he applied for a job at Target in Rio Rancho.
鈥淎round 2009 we had that big crash in our economy, and that had a sizeable impact personally in my life,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I would like to see that never happen again.鈥� His mom lost her job, and he remembered a feeling of uncertainty as she looked for another for months, but businesses just weren鈥檛 hiring.
Valencia鈥檚 started his first semester at the University of New Mexico, and he鈥檚 studying biology. He鈥檚 got his eye on medical school. He鈥檚 torn between Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Valencia said he likes what Clinton鈥檚 been saying about the economy, about having the wealthy pay their fair share and raising the minimum wage. He said it seems to come straight out of Democratic primary contender Bernie Sanders鈥� playbook
He said he hopes the economy鈥檚 been bolstered in the last few years. 鈥淲e need to continue on this path of creating new jobs,鈥� Valencia said.
