Voters' Views: Jill Putnam

Republicans are gathering for their party convention in St Paul, Minnesota as the election campaign shifts up a gear.

Here eight Republican voters from across the US look ahead to the convention and reflect on the state of the party and their presumptive nominee John McCain.

Jill Putnam Student | Republican

"McCain is pro-life whereas Obama is firmly pro-abortion"

• Age: 46
• Lives: Cleveland, Georgia
• Occupation: Student writer
• Last election voted:
  Republican
• In 10 words or fewer: Strong-willed, honest to a fault, political-junkie, patriotic, ambitious and funny

Voters' Views: main page

"I am a born-again Christian. My belief in the Bible informs my politics.

I will vote for someone who is pro-life and represents my core values of God, family and country because the next President will choose several Supreme Court judges.

McCain is pro-life whereas Obama is firmly pro-abortion - look at the controversy over his voting record when he was a state senator in Illinois .

I see Obama and the Democrats as anti-family. They say they want to reach out to religious voters, but this is just a way to get votes.

McCain shares the important religious values that I hold dear - as was demonstrated by his appearance at a televised religious forum in August with Pastor Rick Warren. McCain is strong, steady, tested, and his core values do not shift.

He's just what we need - he is fiscally responsible, planning to maintain Bush's tax cuts and to cut corporate taxes.

McCain has exceeded all expectations with his choice of running mate. Sarah Palin is conservative, pro-life, and pro-active on American energy independence.

I think there should be more focus from the media on the economy and tax cuts.

I want to see John McCain tap into the recent burst of Republican energy that started 1 August - when they confronted Democrats over the energy crisis.

The Republicans are right to advocate offshore drilling. Fuel prices are so high now that my husband and I even ran out of money for petrol last week."

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The readers' panel has been selected from as wide a cross-section of people as possible and may not be representative of wider US public opinion.