The New York Times recently visited the politically crucial Philadelphia suburbs, whose educated voters in middle-class towns, like those in Chester County, are even more vital to winning Pennsylvania than blue-collar workers in the Rust Belt.

What the Times discovered on the pedestrian-friendly streets of West Chester was that a number of Chester County voters consider their choice in the general election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as the lesser of two evils.

“West Chester is the county seat of Chester County,” writes Trip Gabriel for the Times. “Two elected Republican officials strolling outside the government building said they did not support Mr. Trump, but asked not to be named because of pressure they might face from fellow Republicans.”

Mr. Trump “has proven time and time again he is not the type of person we typically elect to be the highest person in the land,” said one of the officials, who holds countywide office. “I’m not a fan of Secretary Clinton, either.”

The official said he would probably write in Senator Marco Rubio of Florida for president.

According to the Times, the fast-growing communities outside Philadelphia, once solidly Republican, have trended Democratic in presidential elections in recent decades. Most local offices are still Republican-held, and the congressional seats in the region are among the hardest fought in the country.

President Obama was able to keep Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes in his column in 2012 by carrying the region, and Mr. Trump will need to do at least respectably well here if he wants to flip the state from blue to red.

However, skepticism of Trump remains high.

Elaine Andrus, 30, who works in marketing, said she would “probably” vote for Mrs. Clinton, but was dismayed that her email security was not taken more seriously. Her husband served in Iraq and worked in network security for a Defense Department contractor. “Everything has to be encrypted,” she said. “They have really high standards.”

Rich Gates, 44, an investment adviser in West Chester, said he was a Democrat before registering as a Republican to vote against Mr. Trump in the Pennsylvania primary, but now supports the libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson.

“I think there’s a 90 percent chance I’m going to vote for Gary Johnson and a 10 percent chance for Hillary,” he said.

Jessica Devers, a 25-year-old paralegal from Wallingford, said the former secretary of state was “extremely careless” in her handling of 110 classified emails. “She took a huge security risk for this country,” she said. “Part of me feels like she’s a criminal.”

Click here to read more feedback from local voters in the New York Times.