By 7 a.m., the Busy Bee in Cullman, Alabama, is alive with the sound of bacon sizzling on the griddle and eggs cracking against an iron skillet.

The air outside is frosty, and a freight train rambles about 50 yards away from the landmark eatery’s front door. The mood inside the Bee is warm and engaging like a vibrant family gathering.

Jerry Parker is a self-described conservative independent who’s a Busy Bee regular.

He’s been there since about 6 a.m., dressed in his familiar winter attire — a cowboy hat, boots, leather vest and a duster worthy of a Clint Eastwood movie.

Parker lives in a city that, like much of Alabama, is deeply Republican and conservative. Politics is one of his favorite topics. A lifelong resident of Cullman County and a faithful voter, Parker remembers when times were different.

He blames the national Democratic Party for the enormous swing to conservative Republican politics in Alabama.

“Democrats were the norm. They were conservative Democrats, or Dixiecrats as everyone called them,” Parker said. “The Democratic Party on the national level kept pushing its liberal politics and were essentially saying they didn’t want us. Then Reagan came and the shift was on.”

Understanding President Ronald Reagan’s message of a strong country and traditional values is the key to understanding President Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency, he said.

“I can remember when you could fit all the Republicans around here into a phone booth. I didn’t even know what one looked like. Everybody was a Democrat, but a lot of the Democrats now are not what many people can identify with,” he said.

Parker said he believes Democrats need to move more to the center and consider how typical Americans feel about issues.

A bit of a political junkie, Parker said Trump came along at a time when voters were frustrated with politicians who were unable to step up and take action on issues that affect average income people.

“Trump is a billionaire who eats hamburgers with construction workers,” Parker said. “He actually got out and met with people. He listens. He’s a crusader for the working man.”

Taking the Pulse

The national media was caught off guard in the 2016 election, predicting a decisive win by then candidate Hillary Clinton. It can be argued that the media just was not paying attention to America, especially rural America.

As we approach midterm elections, we want to listen — really listen — and that’s why we are publishing the Pulse of the Voters.

Newspapers across multiple states and regions conducted grassroots interviews in an environment where participants can feel comfortable. CNHI newspapers plan to speak with voters four times each year through the next presidential election in 2020.

The project is being mirrored in communities across the country served by CNHI, from Florida to Iowa, from New Hampshire to Texas.

We specifically wanted to get a snapshot of how voters in the South feel about the current state of affairs.

For this report, we talked to voters in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi.

Divided We Stand

Barbara Stratton, 66, is a Republican and strong supporter of President Donald Trump. She said she sees disdain from people everyday, whether it’s from people she knows or from what she sees on the news.

The former government employee and current administrative assistant for J. Glenn Gregory Architects said ever since Trump was elected, close Democratic friends have been cold toward her. They always had different opinions, she said, but it never came between their friendship.

“I don’t know what happened, but it was almost immediately after he got elected,” Stratton said. “It was immediate. There became a wall there. They just think that if you like Trump, something’s wrong with you.”

Stratton, a Valdosta resident, said she is disappointed with the Republican Party. She said the party is straying from its conservative roots, and she doesn’t like the Democratic Party at all.

“They don’t want to get along with us, so I don’t want to get along with them,” Stratton said. “The total disdain is everywhere. I don’t see how we can live in the same country for much longer. I don’t know what we can do. I mean, we would have to divide in half. You take half and we take half.”

A Democrat who has previously voted for Republican senators, Dr. Robert Harding, a Valdosta State University professor, said he was shocked to learn the result of the 2016 presidential election.

He is a supporter of the #MeToo movement and does not support the National Rifle Association or Trump’s decision making.

“I do not agree with anything that comes out of his mouth,” Harding said. “He is a habitual, pathological liar. He is an out-and-out racist nationalist who does not represent my views to any degree.”

Harding said Trump has no comprehension on how the economy or how American leadership works.

He said he doesn’t believe there’s a possibility that Trump will be impeached with Congress being in the hands of the Republicans.

“If enough of them aren’t willing to go against their own party and their own president, it’s not going to happen,” he said.

Redder Shade of GOP

Colquitt County has maintained a deeper shade of red than the state as a whole.

All countywide constitutional officers are Republicans. Six of seven Colquitt County Commission seats are held by Republicans, and in 2016, Trump won more than 72 percent of the county’s vote, eclipsing Mitt Romney’s 69 percent in 2012 and John McCain’s 68 percent in 2008.

Judging by the Trump bumper stickers still decorating the back of SUVs and pickup trucks, buyer’s remorse doesn’t seem to have descended on the community.

Among the people in Trump’s camp is Sgt. Jerome Burgess, who thinks the president is checking off on his list of promises, even though he has a unique style.

“I think we’re trying to recover from eight years of bad policy,” said Burgess, an investigator with the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office’s Drug Enforcement Team. “I think some of the changes of the Trump administration have had a benefit. I think it’s going to benefit working-class people.”

Since Trump’s election, Burgess said he feels more hopeful for his children’s future.

“I think of myself as way right. I’m a right-wing patriot; I’m a constitutionalist,” he said. “Not that people on the left are unpatriotic. They just have different ideas.”

Burgess said he would like to see more elected officials in Washington working together on issues where common ground can be found..

Echoing that sentiment is Moultrie resident Brooks Sheldon, a retired banker. He said there is a separation between people on the ideological spectrum.

The separation is exacerbated by the ability to get information that reinforces personal beliefs and from entertainment with a political tilt.

Sheldon said he stopped getting his news from TV during the rancorous 2016 election cycle.

Shifting Political Landscape

While Parker said he has seen a dramatic shift in Alabama from a primarily Democrat electorate to a strong Republican state over the years, Georgia is one state that is slowly seeing a shift in its political landscape in the other direction, but it is way too early to tell what that might mean.

In 2016, Trump took Georgia’s 16 electoral votes, garnering 51.3 percent of the vote, but the political landscape could be changing. Voters in Georgia will see more contested races on the ballot this year, with Democrats running for office in numbers that have not been seen in the state in more than a decade.

Georgia voters will also find more women candidates as options.

“It really is a year where women feel more empowered by the state of current affairs,” said Melita Easters, executive director of the Georgia WIN List, which is a political action committee that backs pro-choice Democratic women. “The ‘Me Too’ and ‘Times Up’ movements have brought up and stirred up memories for many, many women, and they are ready to knock on doors and make phone calls and help other women get elected.”

Compared to the 2016 election, the number of women running for the state Senate jumped 40 percent, according to analysis from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. There was a 25 percent increase in women candidates in the House.

It is the largest group of Democratic candidates running for the Georgia House of Representatives since 2004, as Democrats try to chip away at Republican control in both chambers in Atlanta.

Getting Along

Politicians in Washington, however, aren’t the only ones who need to work on getting along.

In an effort to bring residents of Thomasville together, the city held a session on inclusiveness as part of its community engagement and outreach. During the session, attendants sat next to someone they did not know and were given topics to discuss.

While those interviewed were reticent about views on national politics, they were open in how they receive and trust information.

“You actually find yourself watching less and less news,” Andy Goodwin said. “I’d rather watch something else because it’s so negative. It’s hard to believe everyone on the right is right and everyone on the left is right, or everyone on the right is wrong and everyone on the left is wrong. It’s impossible. There seems to be like a virus of anger. It was even local in our elections.”

Before the ground rules of the inclusiveness session were laid down, Nathaniel Abrams said he worried it might devolve into what television political talk shows have become.

“One thing I was afraid of, I thought we were going to be like those commentators on the talk shows — we would talk over each other all night,” he said. “I can’t stand watching that stuff. When three people are talking, I can’t hear. All they’re doing is arguing.”

Abrams said he and his wife are turning less to the network and cable outlets for their information and tuning into National Public Radio to hear a more unbiased description of the day’s events and happenings.

“The stuff that is on the news isn’t news. It’s opinions,” he said. “NPR is the old Walter Cronkite, give you the facts, and they’re done with it. They do have programs that are opinionated. When you get NPR news, I think you get closer to the middle. I really do.”

Come Together

For Gary Wisenbaker, who was a part of Trump’s Georgia campaign staff and is a political consultant in Valdosta, members of both parties should strive to come together and have respect for different points of views.

“I don’t think the conservative, Republican right has a monopoly on virtue and all the right answers any more than the liberal, left, socialist Democrats do,” Wisenbaker said. “Somewhere between the mix you can formulate policy that will continue to drive this nation forward.”

What separated the Democrats from the Republicans in the 2016 campaign, Wisenbaker said, is that Trump pulled together the base where the Democrats tried to go further left and abandon their base.

“The Democrats have gone to their left extreme to accommodate them as opposed to accommodate a broader spectrum of their voters,” he said. “If their base is more left/moderate and you just accommodate that most left end with (Senator Minority Leader Chuck) Schumer and (House Minority Leader Nancy) Pelosi, those moderates will leave the party.”

Left Behind

Ivie Fowler, a former Suwannee County commissioner in Live Oak, Florida, said the Democratic Party left him. He was originally a registered Democrat but changed to Republican.

Fowler said he is not a party person, but he was taught that voting is an obligation a person should do for their community.

“I think voting is a peaceful transaction of power,” Fowler said.

Fowler said he was taught that if he didn’t vote, he couldn’t complain. He said he planned on complaining, so he never misses an election.

“I think you need to put people ahead of party,” Fowler said.

Suwannee County voted primarily Republican in the 2016 general election. With a voter turnout of 71.5 percent, Trump received 76 percent of the votes.

First & Worst Election

The 2016 presidential election didn’t leave Jacob Ledford, a Chatsworth, Georgia, resident and senior history major at Dalton State College, with any good options. The 23-year-old said it was his first and worst presidential election race.

“It was a terrible choice,” Ledford said. “This was my first presidential election, and I couldn’t vote for either of the two main party candidates. I didn’t want to tell my kids that the first person I voted for president was Donald Trump. I just couldn’t do it.”

His biggest fears of a Trump presidency have already come to fruition, he said.

“He has embarrassed us on the international stage several times,” Ledford said. “His use of Twitter is just beyond the most unpresidential thing I have ever seen. I think joking about nuclear war on Twitter is a dangerous thing.”

Fellow Dalton resident Charlie Miller, 74, also isn’t a big Trump fan.

“I was a (John) Kasich fan,” Miller said. “And I did not vote for Trump in the primary. But I did vote for him in the general election. I held my nose.”

Miller said he always thought he was a conservative Republican. But after taking a test on the internet that says if a person is a conservative, liberal or moderate, Miller learned he was a libertarian, he said.

He has lived in Dalton for about 45 years and is retired from the carpet industry. He is a member of the National Rifle Association, voted in the 2016 election and plans to vote this year.

“I always try to vote,” he said.

Faith Bigger than Fears

Judy Justin, a 59-year-old administrative assistant in Athens, voted in the 2016 presidential election, but not for Trump. She said she doesn’t think Trump represents her values about people, science and other matters.

“We need to start believing in facts again, and if we have questions, research,” she said. “Don’t just seek information that confirms what you already believe and ignore anything that challenges it. Use multiple sources to find the truth. And I think it behooves all of us to take a break from social media — it’s not particularly productive or educational.”

Like most Americans, she has particular concerns.

“I’m worried about the rise of hate groups, deep cuts in education and the lack of diplomacy when it comes to foreign relations,” she said.

She said she also worries about intolerance toward immigrants.

“Our faith has to be bigger than our fears,” she said.

Keeping Informed

For Marianne Hill in Tifton, keeping up with national politics is an important part of being a good citizen, and immigration is her top concern.

“The big concern right now is, of course, the immigration problem,” Hill said. “And I’m glad it’s not my problem to solve. If I was in charge, I would stop all immigration of any kind until we solve the problem of who’s already here.”

Hill wants to see DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, resolved in a way that protects children who were brought here, often referred to as Dreamers.

“My sympathy is very much with the Dreamers,” Hill said. “They were little kids when they were brought over here. They didn’t have anything to say about it.”

Lose or Save Country

Meridian, Mississippi, dentist Dr. Tracy Lott said illegal immigration is where we “lose the country or save it.”

“My biggest concern is losing our society as we know it, our culture,” Lott said. “We have a broken immigration system, but we have porous borders that are causing the United States to become a magnet for illegal immigration.”

Lott said he prefers a merit-based immigration system instead of the current Diversity Immigrant Visa program, also known as the green card lottery system.

Lott, who said he doesn’t particularly care for Trump, said he is in favor of a border wall in some areas to help with immigration, but the system itself needs a massive overhaul.

“We have immigrants who are not coming to assimilate to our culture,” Lott said. “They are coming to seek government assistance, and I worry with chain migration that follows the visa lottery that multiple family members come over with no merit and no way to support themselves that creates even a greater problem from the visa lottery.”

Taking Aim at Gun Control

For Sammy Roberts, a 24-year-old Baldwin County native, gun control is a topic of concern.

Despite voting for Trump and siding with conservatives on the majority of issues, Roberts takes issue with the availability of automatic weapons for people in the general public.

“I realize that Trump can come off as an (expletive), but I already knew that going in to my choice in the election. I wouldn’t say I would go back and do it again if the election were to happen again, I still wouldn’t vote for Hillary,” he said.

He is for guns, but also believes that people don’t need assault rifles in their homes.

“I think your basic pistol, shotgun, or rifle is fine,” he said. “Since this past shooting, I think it’s been brought a lot more to the limelight.”

Baldwin County residents narrowly cast their vote for Clinton in 2016 and had a variety of opinions on the current government. Most respondents agree on three things: the need for Trump to act more statesmanlike, to bring Democrats and Republicans together and more responsible gun laws to prevent violence and deaths throughout the country.

Valdosta resident and retired salesman Hoot Gibson said he isn’t a big fan of the president, but believes a man of bad character can be a great president.

“I think Trump is an outstanding president,” Gibson said. “The things he has been able to accomplish in spite of all the things he has had to contend with makes him great. He is the kind of man who gets things done. I guess you would call him a pragmatist. He solves problems, and that is what our nation needs right now.”

But Gibson isn’t completely satisfied with Trump. He said Trump is incapable of taking advice and Tweets before he thinks.

Gibson called him a narcissist, which is why he doesn’t take advice, but Trump being a narcissist isn’t a completely bad thing, because he is right more than he is wrong.

“Trump may be a narcissist, but he’s my narcissist,” Gibson said. “He is in a position where he thinks he’s right, and he’s not going to listen to anybody else, and that’s good – if he’s right.”