Voters in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island and Maryland are casting primary ballots for presidential candidates in contests pivotal for Republicans and Democrats alike. Democrats are choosing between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, while Republicans are deciding among Ted Cruz, John Kasich and Donald Trump.

Here are some voters’ thoughts:

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Laura Seyler calls Donald Trump a bully.

That’s why she voted for him.

“I’m a very solid (Ted) Cruz fan, and I think Cruz would do an excellent job. But I think Trump is a bigger bully,” Seyler, 63, a senior buyer for a direct marketer, said Tuesday at a polling place in Hamburg, Pennsylvania. “That may sound strange, but I think that’s kind of what we need.”

Seyler, a Republican, said the country is going in the wrong direction — away from constitutional principles and toward socialism — and Trump will lead a restoration.

“I believe Trump will take the bat and straighten things out. I don’t think he’s afraid, he doesn’t owe anybody anything, and I think he’s very much an American that loves his country, and he sees Americans suffering,” she said.

“He’s not perfect. He has flaws. But who is? We could go through every list of politician and pick him apart, but I think he’s pulling the people together, and that says a lot,” she added.

A job transfer brought Seyler to Pennsylvania from California, where she jokes she was part of that state’s tiny “secret society” of conservatives.

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Dan Hendel, an assistant manager at a state liquor store, voted for Bernie Sanders because he wants “to see real change, not just a conversation every four years that goes nowhere and ends there.”

The environment is a top concern of Hendel, 39, a former Green Party member who became a Democrat “not entirely by choice” so he could vote in Pennsylvania’s closed primary.

“We just borrow this planet, and a lot of people don’t seem to be really concerned with what we’re leaving behind for our children,” said Hendel, who voted at a municipal building in Hamburg.

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Loretta Becker, a pharmaceutical sales representative, said she generally doesn’t vote in primaries but came out Tuesday to cast her ballot for Hillary Clinton because she considers her the most qualified candidate and is worried about a potential Trump presidency.

“He slurs, his negativity, his racism, the comments that he makes about different ethnic groups I just find it appalling.” Becker said after voting in Warwick, Rhode Island.

A former social worker and onetime Vermont resident, Becker indicated she also liked Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, but Clinton was her first choice.

Why Clinton?

“The fact that I really loved having Obama for president and now having Hillary as a president, feeling like she’ll do a great job and knowing that she’s the best candidate and wanting to vote for her and support her,” Becker said.

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Charbel Najem, 22, of Providence, Rhode Island, is an engineering student at the University of Rhode Island. Originally from Lebanon, Najem said he became a citizen three months ago and voted in the Democratic primary for Bernie Sanders.

“I think he’s an honest person, and he’s talking about issues that are relevant,” said Najem, an unaffiliated voter.

Najem said he thinks most of Sanders’ plans are more feasible than the other candidates’ proposals.

(AP)