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    • California Farm Country Voters Feel Left Out of Presidential Race
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    California Farm Country Voters Feel Left Out of Presidential Race

    Sakege Posted on

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    FRESNO, California – Farmers’ markets, especially on Wednesdays, serve as this city’s plaza. Parking lots fill up quickly, whether it’s in the mornings downtown on Kern Street or at a vineyard less than 10 miles away that closes at dusk.

    Producers come from all walks of life, as do customers, and are all looking for fresh farm-to-table produce, from fruits and vegetables to jams and grass-fed beef at bargain prices.

    Three hours from San Francisco and Los Angeles, Fresno is more reminiscent of Central America than the large, world-renowned cities that anchor the country’s most populous state.

    Agriculture is their main source of income and Fresno County is consistently one of the largest. agricultural producers of the world.

    But neither Fresno County nor the city of the same name receive much attention from candidates for president of the United States.

    “I haven’t seen enough of either candidate. It’s almost like they can’t see us, they don’t care about us,” said Andre Smith, 60, who was selling produce at the downtown market on a recent day.

    Smith, a project director for a nonprofit that teaches young black people how to farm, said he worries about high food and gas prices. But all he hears from politicians are promises he doesn’t know whether to believe. “I want to know: Can they keep what they promise? Both sides can lie. Are they looking out for me or themselves?”

    Fresno is a blue city within a red county in a blue state. Both the city and county suffer from low voter turnout, and the combination of clear political allegiances and lack of enthusiasm has left the region off most political itineraries.

    The closest the area has seen to a candidate was when Republicans donald trump running mate J.D. Vance I spent the night in Fresno (and was seen jogging the next day) in late July to attend a big fundraiser an hour away in Coalinga.

    Presidential candidates come to California only to raise money and then spend it in battleground states, he said. Ken Goldsteinprofessor of politics at the University of San Francisco based in Washington, DC.

    Fresno voters “are very nice people, but there’s no strategic imperative to talk to them,” Goldstein said, adding that anyone can be politically active by participating in phone banks or volunteering in battleground states.

    Still, Fresno County itself is pretty purple, he said James Kusthe County Clerk and the Registrar of Voters. During an official voter count in September, nearly 195,000 local voters were registered as Democrats and more than 167,000 as Republicans, along with 105,000 independents, he said.

    Typically, far fewer people vote than are registered. During the state primary in March, only 156,425 voters, or 31%, participated.

    “It wasn’t a record low, but barely,” Kus said. “That makes November even more interesting. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t get a big turnout.”

    But Kus, as Smith said, wants the area to get more national political attention.

    “We realize that we are the agricultural heart of this country,” he said, “but I’ve also heard that we’re kind of an afterthought and that our concerns aren’t necessarily being recognized on the political side at the national level.”

    ‘Trying to find out where the truth is’

    As he looked at the few boxes of sweet potatoes he had left, Smith said it had been a good day at the farmers market.

    Smith is a project manager for the nonprofit West Fresno Family Resource Center’s Sweet Potato Project, which runs a 2-acre sweet potato farm about a 10-minute drive from the market. Sales at $1 per pound or $32 per case help keep the project funded and continue to encourage teens to stay in school, stay away from drugs and gangs.

    Smith, a lifelong Fresno resident and retired real estate investor with 10 adult children, is confident he can share his wisdom with children.

    However, he remains undecided about who to support for president.

    “Don’t stereotype me,“he said, for not supporting the Democrats Kamala Harris because she is black like him. By not coming to the region, Smith said Harris and Trump missed the opportunity to listen to local concerns and attract local voters to the polls.

    Smith wants to ensure that the children she mentors, “those who already have challenging lives,” receive the proper education and support they deserve. And he’s worried about his own sons, a 24-year-old Army sergeant and a 19-year-old he hopes won’t follow his older brother into the Army.

    “I constantly think about them and their future,” Smith said. “I always wonder where we will be in four months or four years.”

    Little by little they are recovering

    Searching for fresh fruits and vegetables at the Vineyard Farmers Market, Leah Shubin’s young children compete for her attention to eat another seasonal grape from a vine she just purchased.

    “The prices here are much better than at the supermarket,” said Shubin, a housewife from the nearby rural area of ​​Madera Ranchos. “We want to make sure our kids are eating good food.”

    Shubin, 27, believes Trump can put more money in his pocket if he is re-elected.

    She estimates that she and her husband Kyle, 34, spend about $100 more on each grocery trip compared to a year ago.

    They closely watch what they spend, especially since Kyle, a cybersecurity consultant, was laid off from his job earlier this year. “It was a difficult stretch,” he said. The middle-class couple was forced to adjust their expenses and prematurely sell a second home that they hoped to fix up and use as another source of income.

    Shubin paused briefly and took a deep breath as his children begged for more grapes. Fortunately, Kyle found another job in cybersecurity, Shubin said, and the family is “little by little recovering.”

    “God provides and we just trust Him,” Shubin said.

    She believes Trump “is a tenacious businessman” who deserves another chance to be president. She believes Trump can help “boost the economy,” which she believes will lead to more jobs and more overall stability across the country, including in rural areas.

    Well aware of the county’s typically low voter turnout, Shubin hopes area voters will turn out on Election Day “no matter what side of the political aisle” they are on.

    “You can’t really complain if you don’t vote.”

    It’s not going to stop me from voting for who I want.

    Farmer Gianni Raines is well aware that he has a different mindset than most, even when it comes to his thoughts on politics.

    the owner of Zone 9 Farms It doesn’t have a traditional stand filled with large, ripe fruits and vegetables. Instead, at the Vineyard Farmers Market, Raines sells trays of microgreens, edible seedlings of herbs and vegetables, eaten raw in salads or sandwiches.

    Raines’ vegetables typically have a 12-day growing cycle and he sells about 200 trays a week. Some of their most popular microgreens include a very purple Rambo radish with a strong bite and cilantro leaves that customers like Shubin buy by the tray. Baby peppers are also big sellers.

    “I can pay my bills and then some,” Raines said, showing his trays on display and in his truck. “I like to keep things simple.”

    Raines believes simplicity applies to his politics, too. He considers himself a libertarian, one of the largest independent political parties in the country, and plans to vote for Libertarian Chase Oliver, who receives about 1% of the vote in national polls, including a recent one from USA TODAY and Suffolk University.

    Raines identifies almost word for word with Oliver’s edict: “Live your own life as you see fit. Your body is your body. “Your business is your business and your property is your property.”

    He knows his candidate won’t win, “but I don’t care. That won’t stop me from voting for who I want.”

    While Kus disagrees with Raines about his vote not counting, he admires Raines’ spirit.

    “Getting voters excited increases turnout,” Kus said, noting that California has same-day voter registration, so it’s not too late even for people who aren’t registered. “That’s what I want the hard-working residents of this county to do: exercise their right to vote,” he said.

    Raines said he had the same determination when he entered the agricultural sector seven years ago after leaving his job of nearly a decade as an IV technician at a local hospital.

    He became fascinated with microgreens after watching a YouTube video and purchasing some trays and seeds. He likes not needing a big farm and growing with fluorescent lighting at home.

    “I wanted to see if I could turn this into my own business, be my own boss and make my own decisions,” he said.

    Now, Raines is part of a thriving farmers market, run by Félix Muzquiz.

    “It’s beautiful to see that our producers are doing their best,” said Muzquiz, a Harris supporter. “It shows that we can put aside our political or any other differences for the common good.”“.

    Sakege
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