PORT ANGELES, Wash. — Two weeks from election day most national polls in the United States has the race for the White House as too close to call.
But you might be able to find the best predictor for this race in our backyard.
Clallam County is a bellwether because it's the only county in the country that has voted for the winning candidate every election for 40 years.
That's true for all but two elections going back to 1920.
If the election were a coin toss, Clallam County would win 23 out of 25 times. The chance of that? About 1 in 100,000.
So what’s the secret hidden in the most northwestern county in the continental U.S.?
"We have the mountains," said Christopher Hamilton, who was born and raised in Port Angeles. "We have the ocean. "It's got the perfect mixture of everything you could need."
What do you think it says about Clallam County that it's the only one in the entire country that's correctly chosen the president every election cycle since 1980?
“I would just have to say they just have good insight," said Barry Swegel, Port Angeles resident.
"That's pretty remarkable," said Bonnie Williams, who moved to Port Angeles in 1978. "I'm pretty proud of it. "
From Ronald Reagan to Joe Biden, a majority of Clallam County voters have picked the president. That’s six Republicans and five Democrats.
It's a streak unmatched by the other 3,142 counties in the U.S.
"I'm as dumbfounded and stumped as anyone else," said Dorothy Bertsch, a Sequim resident.
We visited Rainshadow Café in Sequim.
"I always say it's the cheers of coffee," said Dominique Hall, owner of Rainshadow Café. "The place where everybody knows your name."
It's not quite a red county, not quite a blue one.
"And you certainly see signs equal for everyone," Bertsch said.
It's a town that votes like the color of its favorite flower.
"Well, we have people here from a lot of places," Joan Bennett said.
Clallam County was built on the marine industry in Port Angeles, agriculture in Sequim, and logging in Forks.
“This was some of the largest timber in the country was out here in the Olympic Peninsula," said David Brownell, North Olympic History Center executive director.
The archives at the North Olympic History Center gave us a peak inside. Brownell said the driver of the economy here has shifted over time.
“This was a big mill town those mills have slowly shut down for different reason and you’ve seen a real continual growth in tourism," Brownell said.
The county’s biggest towns are nestled between the Olympic mountains and the Pacific Ocean; Sequim, Forks and Port Angeles.
The county skews older and poorer than the national average. It’s overwhelmingly white with a growing Latino population and a higher-than-average Native American community.
"If you kind of put things on a map it trends from kind of purple in the east side of the county to red out west but there's a ton of exceptions to that," Brownell said.
As industries have shifted – their bellwether status has not.
"Maybe they look at those issues they care about more than any candidate or party," Hamilton said.
"Voting based on values not just necessarily political alignment," Brownell said.
Of the remaining 19 bellwether counties since 1980, they all but picked Trump in 2020 - except for Clallam.
We asked Clallam County voters what their most important issue in this election to gauge their feelings.
"My number one issue is women’s rights," Williams said.
"My number one issue is just the economy," said Christine Chang, Port Angeles resident. "Just the way things are going everything is pretty expensive right now.
"Number one issue for us would probably be housing," Hamilton said.
"I'm very military-oriented," Bennett said.
"The right for women to choose," Bertsch said.
"Affordable housing and childcare," Hall said.
As we near another presidential election, here's what we can learn from the county with an unparalleled voting track record.
"More caring more kind more generous more giving," Bertsch said.
"Understanding that if you don't agree with the person you live next door to doesn't make them a bad person and that there's probably a lot more you see eye to eye on," Brownell said.
"How to slow down and enjoy life," Chang said.
Now the question on everyone's mind: Who will Clallam County vote for this year?
We’ll have to wait until Nov. 5 to find out.