‘Ridiculously hilarious’: American-New Zealanders watch – and worry about - presidential election

American citizens who live in New Zealand may be far from home, but the United States election campaign is still close to their hearts.

Couple Lacy Kamm and Ben Cunningham, along with Lacy’s mother Joan Kamm, have moved to central Auckland from Ohio, but will be voting in this year’s hotly-contested presidential race.

Ms Kamm, a veterinary specialist, said she is surprised by the level of coverage the elections are getting here.

“I am impressed at how reported on it’s been over here in New Zealand. I wouldn't think America would get that much publicity here,” said Ms Kamm.

Mr Cunningham, who was born in New Zealand but grew up in America, said the views of fellow Americans living here tend to be varied.

Although the couple lean towards the Democrat side of the scale in their political views, Ms Kamm said she tries to keep up to speed with Republican views too via podcasts.

“I listen to some podcasts that give the more Republican side of things,” she said.

Her mother Joan has only been in New Zealand since January, and said their home state of Ohio is often a key target for votes. “Ohio is a swing state there in the middle of the country, [so it’s] very important politically.”

Joan has a history of political engagement, and will be voting from Auckland in this year’s election. “I was working very hard on Obama in 2008. I was dragging people out at five o’clock. ‘You haven't voted yet? I’ll come and get you’. So I was very strongly backing Obama.”

Gregg Franco is originally from California and now lives in New Zealand. He has voted in the past three presidential elections, and will vote again this year.

Mr Franco said fellow expats have been talking about the campaigns.

“It’s generally a popular topic, especially because a lot of New Zealanders ask us how we feel about this candidate, or that candidate,” said Mr Franco.

”Particularly Donald Trump, he seems to be a person on everyone’s mind.”

Rob Tate, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Wellington, said many of the 60,000 Americans living in New Zealand have been following the political races across the Pacific.

“There has been significant interest in the presidential election by American Citizen overseas voters in NZ,” he said.

With congress passing the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act in 2009, it has been made much easier for Americans to vote from offshore, he added.

“We encourage overseas voters to visit the redesigned Federal Voting Assistance Program website, fvap.gov, which has the forms and information needed to vote from abroad in U.S. elections.”

Mr Tate said he is pleased that New Zealanders have also been following the presidential campaigns.

“We have been very impressed with how closely both Americans and New Zealanders have followed the campaign and issues. The diversity of candidates and variety of views has really captured the interest of people around the world.”

The Trump anomaly

While Americans living in New Zealand are watching the election race unfold from a distance, there is one candidate who they are all keeping a close eye on – current Republican nomination leader for the 2016 presidential race, Donald Trump.

“I always thought he was a total joke,” said Ms Kamm. The veterinary specialist said although the Republican race has been “definitely entertaining news,” she struggles to comprehend how so many people can support Trump. “I always thought he was the guy you make fun of, right?”

Mr Franco said it is “surreal” that Trump keeps winning primaries, but he believes some of the billionaire’s policies are fairly conservative compared to some other Republican contesters.

“A lot of his policies are quite moderate compared to some of the other Republican candidates,” said Mr Franco. “In other policies, like foreign policy or immigration, he's quite extreme. So it makes him pretty volatile.

“It’s difficult to know exactly where he stands or what he would do, or whether he would just do something for the shock value.”

Mr Cunningham said Trump’s popularity is odd, yet it also makes some sense.

“I am surprised, but then it seems logical that it happened. Trump’s kind of Frankenstein’s monster. The GOP, the Republican party, have been pandering to this demographic for a long time.”

Ms Kamm said she believes “it is a much less educated person who is voting for Trump, and people who really enjoy the drama of everything. There’s a lot of very well educated republicans who are trying not to get him through.”

Listen here to the Kamm family discuss their views on the upcoming American election

Mr Cunningham said Trump is simply using fear tactics to gain votes, and even if the politician believes his own rhetoric, his inexperience in politics means he would struggle to implement extreme policies.

“Banning an entire religious group from entering the country would be against the constitution” he said. “So the stuff he claims, he can’t do, unless he tears up the constitution, which is something scary.”

The popularity of Trump and Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders show that many Americans are becoming increasingly fed up with the establishment and the status quo, said Mr Cunningham.

“It’s a sign on both sides of the political spectrum that people are really unhappy with the constant.”

Regardless, he suspects that after all the votes are in and counted come November, the next US president will end up being former secretary of state and Democrat, Hillary Clinton.

“Hillary is a continuation of that constant,” said Mr Cunningham. “The lobbyists get what they want, the rich get what they want. Everyone else is just suffering under a crumbling social and physical infrastructure.

“Sad times.”