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It's anyone's guess who will win the 2020 presidential election. Polls across the country vary, with President Donald Trump leading in some and and former Vice President Joe Biden ahead in others.

Despite what many see as an ever-widening gap between the right and left, it appears some voters are crossing the political aisle. Several well-known Republicans have already decided to jump ship this election cycle. Among those are former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and Cindy McCain, widow of the late Sen. John McCain.

The president's list of supporters from the Democratic Party is not as long, but it does include a former Democratic state legislator in Minnesota, Gary Doty, and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was pardoned by Trump in February after being removed from office in 2009 on corruption charges.

It's not only politicians who have had changes of heart. One Tahlequah, Oklahoma, woman, Kimberly Davis, grew up in a religious household in Houston with her siblings and a single mother. Now an atheist, she moved from California to Tahlequah four years ago with her husband.

"I was raised liberal and I didn't even vote for Trump because I was a liberal and I was completely against it," Davis said. "In 2016, when it all started happening, I cried when he was voted in, and my neighbors were shooting off their guns, and I thought, 'I can't believe I live here.'"

While Davis originally felt grief when Trump was elected, she said she's tried to do research and pay less attention to her feelings. She has since formed a different opinion about the 45th president of the United States.

"I just had a complete mental breakdown when Trump was elected. Two months after he was elected, a lot of the facts I was being fed started seeming less real, and there was no backing to it," Davis said. "As a woman, I was always told that I'm a victim and feminist this and feminist that. I was being fed lies and eventually I realized none of that was true."

On the flip side, Tahlequah resident Susan Feller said she would rather be voting for a "qualified Republican," as she said she is concerned Trump does not have the ability to bring the nation together.

"He has enriched himself through the presidency, including costing taxpayers millions of dollars to support his golf habit," said Feller. "He pardoned criminals who support him, which is simply wrong. He has mishandled the pandemic and made it into a political issue."

Though she registered as a Republican when she was 18, Feller shifted away from the GOP when the Tea Party materialized. In 2015, she registered as an independent, and this year, she decided to register as a Democrat.

"I'm hoping if Biden wins, he devotes himself to addressing the anger and hate unleashed by Trump," said Feller. "Listen to the concerns of all citizens. We may not all agree, but we share a country and need to start finding common ground."

While it seems the Republican and Democratic parties are becoming increasingly polarized, it has left many people stuck in the middle, hoping to see some sort of change in the country's political framework. Tahlequah resident Aaron Grant said he has voted the Democratic ticket in the past, but has a much more independent streak these days.

"The two-party system denies too many of us representation," said Grant. "I vote for people over parties these days, and I think a ranked-voting system would open up the possibility of any number of candidates from any number of parties - nullifying the two-party system, giving better representation to those disenfranchised voters, and potentially adding votes to both Democrats and Republicans."

This year, Grant said he will choose Biden if he decides to vote at all. However, he is concerned the gerrymandering of districts can lead to faulty election outcomes. He would prefer to see third-party candidates start to get more attention in today's political climate, as well.

"Current regulations make it nearly impossible for other parties to be listed in this state, and independent parties can't get any traction nationally until every state decides to play ball," said Grant.

Although some voters will shift sides this election, many will stick with the party with which they most affiliate themselves. It's not uncommon for citizens to vote strictly along party lines.

Shannon Grimes, Cherokee County Libertarian Party chair, said it seems like voters are often stuck in abusive relationships with their parties and just don't know how to escape.

"I think perceptions and emotions regarding political parties is a mixed bag," said Grimes. "More and more people are seeing the flip-flopping hypocrisy and becoming somewhat disenchanted. But on the other hand, 'that other party' is worse, and so they continue with what they consider the less bad option. It is tough to break out and away from the psychology of the two-party system."

The Libertarian Party will need more media attention before it can start to collect a greater percentage of the votes, said Grimes. He also pointed out it's the only other party that will have its presidential candidate and her vice presidential pick on the ballot in all 50 states.

"Getting that ballot access is a huge endeavor in and of itself," he said. "The other thing the Libertarian Party needs to do is to locate and support good candidates, especially for smaller and local offices. Thankfully, this is happening. Yes, there are candidates who are running for larger offices even when unlikely to get much traction. But they have too in order to try and maintain ballot access."

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Some voters have change of heart in Trump era - Tahlequah Daily Press