Monterey presidential debate viewers share thoughts on final political show down

While many Monterey bars showed the baseball game on Wednesday night, some decided to mix things up by putting on the debate.

“We called a few places this time, the last debate, we actually didn’t get anywhere that would be willing to show it. They were worried about conflict with alcohol and the debate,” said Kayla Czajkowski, a graduate student at Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

Normally a slow night, the Alvarado Street Brewery and Grill was packed with people like Czajkowski and her friends to watch the final face-to-face showdown.

“I will be honest, I’ve already made my decision on who I’m going to be voting for. But I’m curious to see how both candidates handle the questions and how they respond. I’m hoping that there will be more discussion about actual policy,” said Lina Yaqubian, also a graduate student at Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

With three screens showing the debate, the brewery says it’s important to be a part of history.

“This is like one of the final moments where we really judge who we are going to pick for president, and I think people here in Monterey are more of a sophisticated group that are going to really want to see what’s going on in America,” said Chaysten Deaton, an employee at Alvarado Street Brewery and Grill.

Others stumbled into the restaurant, even those not from this county were captivated by the debate.

“I think it [the U.S.] influences the world economics and basically everything in the world. And of course, it actually takes a big part of the Danish media. I know this is shown live on Danish TV,” said Danish tourist Peter Stolpe.

As for Czajkowski, she said it also helps to have a drink or two to get through it.

“I love being around other people that are into politics, whether they agree with me or not, and sometimes it requires a little bit of alcohol to make it to the end,” Czajkowski said.

A CNN ORC poll released tonight found that Clinton came out on top with 52 percent of debate watchers saying she had a stronger performance and 39 percent saying they thought Trump won.