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    • In Livingston County, residents are focused on the economy.
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    In Livingston County, residents are focused on the economy.

    Sakege Posted on

    Sonja Krohn and Siddhi Choubey
    | Special to the Detroit Free Press

    BRIGHTON, Michigan – The farmers market right in the heart of downtown Brighton adds to its charming atmosphere.

    Every Saturday through October, residents and visitors stop by to purchase pumpkins, gifts and produce sold directly by area farmers. In some ways, it perfectly represents Livingston County, a place where small-town life meets rural, conservative values.

    Located between Lansing and Detroit, Livingston County at least partially retains its rural beginnings, despite continued growth. In recent years, the area has seen an influx of people settling and traveling to the Detroit metropolitan area, adding a suburban element.

    At the farmers market, Samantha Smigelski works a booth at her yoga studio in Brighton.

    “People who have been in the city for a long time aren’t necessarily happy with how quickly it has grown, and it’s like losing that quiet, small town feeling that I think so many people love about Brighton,” he said.

    An absentee ballot drop box toward the center of the market reminds visitors that the election is just a few days away.

    Historically, Livingston County tends to support Republican candidates. In the 2020 presidential election, when President Joe Biden won Michigan, the county voted for Trump over Biden between 60.5% and 37.9%.

    But geographic voting patterns reveal a difference between rural and urban areas of the county, with the latter presenting a narrower political divide. In the city of Brighton, 49.5% of voters in 2020 voted for Trump and 48.7% for Biden.

    Mike Layer recently returned to the area after living in Ferndale for 12 years. While he believes Livingston County deserves its conservative reputation, he was also pleasantly surprised: “I think younger people are coming back to the cities and bringing the positive with them.”

    Layer identifies as a left-leaning independent voter, but “Given the trajectory of the current Republican Party under Trump, I can’t imagine a world in which I would feel comfortable voting for any Republican,” he said.

    The issues that concern county residents during this election are mostly those that divide the entire nation.

    “Everyone is concerned that our elections are very contentious, that people are leaning more one way or the other, instead of being willing to meet in the middle to address the issues,” said owner Elyse Moore from a store right across from the farmers market. .

    Have you heard local people talk about inflation and immigration, or more locally, about recent white supremacist protests in Howell.

    Livingston County is a predominantly white area: 93.6% white, not Hispanic or Latino, compared to 58.4% nationally, according to census data.

    Some voters recognize this is a problem. Becky Liss is from Taylor but works a stall at the farmers market and said, “I really don’t want to be negative about the community, but there is a lack of diversity here, a huge lack of diversity.”

    In August, Donald Trump visited the city of Howell and spoke about immigration and border security. citing inflated crime figures and blame the Biden-Harris administration’s open border policies.

    But while some residents see the situation at the southern border as a problem, it is not their primary concern locally.

    Ray Moses, a Hartland farmer who sells grass-fed beef and hay, believes “the border crisis is an invasion,” but he knows the area doesn’t receive many undocumented immigrants.

    According to census data, the county has a foreign-born population of only 2.9%, compared to 13.7% nationally.

    While a few dairy and grass producers employ migrant workers, Moses explained that most farms in Livingston County do not rely on seasonal help: “The situation here is primarily commercial grain producers growing a lot of surface with large, heavy equipment that can do a lot. “There’s a lot of work for them, so they don’t need a lot of manpower.”

    Regarding Trump’s speech, he said that crime was not a problem here, and regarding immigration, “We are very far from the border. I think it’s a great talking point, though, if you’re Trump. That just irritates people. Because people here act like they care, but we still don’t have it here.”

    But there is one issue that worries many in Livingston County: the economy. “When I talk to people who live here, we’re worried about prices, we’re worried that everything is expensive,” Moore said.

    Deb Drick, elections chairwoman for the Livingston County Republicans, believes inflation is the county’s biggest problem. “Prices have gone up on everything in the last four years and it’s been terrible,” he said.

    Moore says inflation is a contributing factor to the area’s economic concerns.

    “People are upset about how expensive everything is. Inflation itself is not that bad right now, but it doesn’t matter, because it was very bad,” he said.

    Locally, housing is another top concern for residents, Moore said. “There’s a housing shortage, people who grew up here want to live in Livingston County and they can’t find something they can afford.”

    Livingston County Democrats Chair Judy Daubenmier would agree that Livingston County is not an affordable place for young, middle-income families, but she says it’s a problem locally. “The high cost of housing is nothing new for Livingston County.”

    For Daubenmier, there is a lot at stake in this election, as Democratic voters are primarily focused on reproductive freedoms and the preservation of democracy.

    His office distributes yard signs to residents and they had trouble meeting demand this election. While posting signs helps create a sense of community among Democratic voters, there has been an ongoing displacement problem in the conservative county.

    “Every day someone comes and says their sign was stolen, or they had a big sign and they destroyed it,” he said.

    To avoid this, he said some place the sign closer to their house, point a camera at it or look at it at night.

    Smigelski has noticed more signs of support for Trump. “I see a lot more Trump flags, Trump signs. “I think people who support Trump talk a lot more about it,” he said.

    Conservative values ​​still run deep in Livingston County, where rural farmland encloses its few urban areas. “If you live in the country like I do as a farmer, you generally don’t support a lot of the policies that Democrats make,” Moses said.

    For this election, he is confident that Livingston County will vote for Trump.

    But “the city of Howell and the city of Brighton are pretty close to changing,” he says. As the population grows, he predicts the county will follow the trend. But not yet.

    This article is part of a collaboration between The Free Press, Michigan State University students and the American Communities Project for tell the stories of voters, their experiences, and their political motivations in Michigan communities ahead of the 2024 elections. It is supported by a grant from the American Press Institute. Contact us at [email protected].

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