At local fairs around the U.S., voters tell us what they really think

Though these fairs are not overtly political, politics plays a role. In some states, local parties and lawmakers host their own booths. At nearly all, candidates shake hands and kiss babies, hoping to win over voters.

This year was no exception. With competitive congressional and gubernatorial races across the country, candidates flocked to county fairs and urban festivals ahead of the midterms. They were met by voters who are worried about the economy, abortion access and poisonous partisanship.

We visited five swing states — including Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona — to talk to fairgoers about the midterms and the issues they care about most. Here’s what they had to say.

Seguin, Tex.: Guadalupe County Fair and Rodeo

Interviews by Eva Ruth Moravec, photos by Scott Stephen Ball

Every year, this fair outside San Antonio draws thousands of visitors to the rides and rodeo. In October, the voters we spoke to said the economy — particularly inflation — was the major issue shaping their thinking about the midterms.

Rebecca Jaroszewski, 38

At the fair’s petting zoo, Jaroszewski watched her children eagerly greet the goats, rooster and a few chatty geese.

The Jaroszewskis are no strangers to livestock — they have some cattle and a horse. Jaroszewski is a lawyer who works on estate planning in San Antonio. Politically, “most of the time, we’re leaning red,” she said, and that’s still the case. This year, the primary issue driving her to vote is the economy.

Inflation has affected everyone, she said, from the farmer who brings her livestock hay — and who is now grappling with higher gas and feed costs — to clients struggling to make ends meet after a death in the family.

“I’m concerned about the economy and the rising cost of everything. Real estate, gas, groceries, medical costs,” she said. “And I don’t really see how most people, especially those that are paycheck-to-paycheck, can actually sustain what’s going on.”

Jake King, 31

To King, the midterms seemed far away. “I’m gonna be honest, I’m not real big into politics,” said King, a professional bullfighter who travels with his pregnant wife and 1-year-old daughter from their home in New Waverly, Tex., to rodeos on weekends. “We’re here to save the cowboys.”

He means this quite literally: When riders are bucked off during the night’s main event — bull riding — King and others try to distract the feisty bull so the cowboy can flee. Bullfighting can be dangerous, but King takes a lighthearted approach to his job and hopes to soon become a “funnyman,” who entertains crowds between rodeo acts.

“I do vote, because, I mean, your vote does count,” he said. “But there needs to be some cowboy running for president. I’m just not ready.”

AJ Neal, 26

As a single man with no children and a fairly consistent paycheck as a bullfighter, Neal hasn’t felt the pinch of rising costs. But he worries that other cowboys, with families and other financial responsibilities, will.

“I think fuel has been the biggest hit,” Neal said. “You got guys who can’t afford to travel across the country, you know, because $4 a gallon is rough on a guy.”

At work, Neal loves to interact with children and families. Nationally, he said, “I don’t really check in the politics too much. I kind of just rely on my faith and do what I do.”

But when it comes to local government, Neal said he’ll take some time and research before the upcoming election and plans to vote for people who align with his values: “faith, family, you know, peace, love, harmony. I’m not really big into this division.”

Phoenix: Arizona State Fair

Interviews by Jimmy Magahern, photos by Joshua Lott

At this year’s Arizona State Fair, more than 80 food vendors serve up treats including fry bread, kettle corn, hot Cheetos-covered burgers and Cinnamon Toast Crunch churros. Here, voters highlighted a range of issues on their minds, including education, health care and the rising cost of college tuition.

Lazaro Campos, 45

Campos said he’s voting “blue all the way.” The reason?

“I work construction, and there’s a shortage on labor,” Campos said. “If it wasn’t for Trump cutting the H-1B visas, we’d have a surplus of labor right now.”

Campos hasn’t always voted up and down the ballot for Democrats. In 2020, he supported current Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) because of his promises to cut taxes and bring in new employers.

But he said there are critical concerns in the state that neither party is addressing. “There’s a water shortage. Underground wells are running out of water, our reservoirs are running out. But they don’t talk about it,” he said. “It’s all just us against them.”

Latanya Jones, 49

Jones, who moved to Phoenix from Wisconsin, spent her career focused on mental health. She feels that’s an issue that hasn’t received enough attention from Arizona’s political candidates. “Health care is important to me,” she said. “Mental health has been a prevalent issue, especially under covid, for going on three years now.”

Jones said she is planning to vote in the midterms, though she hadn’t settled on a candidate. “I’m looking at who’s gonna make the right decision, and make sure everybody’s good,” especially around education and student loans.

“It’s been a sad situation in the country,” Jones said, adding that she tries to stay hopeful but “with the state of things right now, I don’t see too much that’s encouraging.”

Jacob Lujan, 22, and Aylin Magallanes, 20

Lujan and his girlfriend, Magallanes, said their votes will be focused on the economy. “I feel like especially for the younger population, it’s getting harder for us to get by,” Lujan said. His family runs their own small business, and he worries about the effects of rising prices on them.

Magallanes agreed. “Everything is going up — the price of gas, the prices for groceries,” she said. “I come from a low-income neighborhood, so it’s kind of hard, you know? I go to ASU, and the tuition is now, like, $20,000. So I’m just worried about the direction the economy is headed.”

Philadelphia: South Street Fest

Interviews by Maura Ewing, photos by Caroline Gutman

At the first South Street Fest since the pandemic began, thousands of people gathered in one of the city’s most popular neighborhoods for Oktoberfest brews, skateboarding ramps and international food vendors. Women’s issues and abortion access were front-of-mind for many voters at the October festival.

Ashley Moore, 37

Moore is nervous about the midterms. “There is so much on the line, especially in a swing state like ours,” she said. “And especially as a woman.”

Moore, who came to the festival to sell her homemade jewelry, said she has registered people to vote (“I’ve done my part,” she said.) Her top issues are women’s rights and voting rights.

She is also concerned about safety — Philadelphia has seen jarring levels of gun violence in recent years. But she doesn’t buy the Republican ads blaming Democratic policies for crime. “I know that a lot of their words are scare tactics,” she said.

She is more concerned about keeping Republicans out of office than she is excited about any of the Democratic candidates. “[Doug] Mastriano, gosh, that seems like a scary dude,” she said of the Republican candidate for governor.

Tommy Lock, 45

For Lock, issues such as abortion are central to his midterm vote. “I was raised by women. I have two daughters,” he said, adding that no man “is going to tell women what they can do with their body.”

He plans to vote for Democrats to protect abortion access in the state but is unhappy about the state of politics generally.

“There is too much fearmongering,” he said. Lock, who owns a small business with his wife, is nostalgic for the days when politics weren’t so divisive. “It’s all negative campaigning,” he said. “Instead of coming together in the center, everyone is running to their corners.”

Scott Bounpraseuth, 32

Bounpraseuth is planning to vote for both Democratic candidates on the ballot in Pennsylvania: Josh Shapiro for governor and John Fetterman for Senate.

“Fetterman did so much for the little town he was mayor of, it will be interesting to see how he can translate that to a bigger stage,” he said. “He’s so beloved here.” If Shapiro wins, Bounpraseuth hopes that he’ll defend women’s reproductive rights. “I think he would stand up for my values,” he said.

Perry, Ga.: Georgia National Fair

Interviews by Mark Shavin, photos by Elijah Nouvelage

One of the bigger contests here isn’t the looming midterms but Robinson’s Racing Pigs — a staple of the fair. Not a food staple, mind you, though there are plenty of those: fried curds, dipped apples and barbecue turkey legs. Here in Middle Georgia, at a fair that draws 500,000 visitors to town, even the pigs compete for an Oreo cookie. Abortion and inflation were the top concerns among the voters we spoke with.

Katlyan Wakefield, 21, and Matthew Beck, 22

Wakefield and Beck attended the fair as a couple. Wakefield said she is a Democrat but hadn’t decided who to vote for. “I’m still making up my mind,” she said. She’s concerned about gas prices and believes people should be allowed to carry guns for their own protection.

Beck said he cannot vote because he is a felon, recently out of prison for motor vehicle theft. But he considers himself a Republican. He’s antiabortion and pro-gun, but his biggest concern, he said, is potential employers who stereotype people like him.

He wants those who have gotten out of prison to have “more opportunities. Even if they got tattoos or look crazy, be able to hire them, help people with jobs who are trying to restart their lives.”

Brice Nelms, 29

Nelms, an accountant at a nearby nuclear power plant, has three children. The Republican said she supports Herschel Walker (R) for Senate and Gov. Brian Kemp (R). “I’m very pro-life. Just everything that stands for biblical principles,” she said.

She is unhappy about the direction of the nation. “Where the country is going right now, it’s very far, far left. It’s way too radical. I want to see God back in the country.”

Nelms said rising food prices are hitting her young family especially hard. “Good gracious,” she added. “We can fund a war in Ukraine, but we can’t feed our own children right now.”

Diana Perez, 35

Though Perez considers herself a Democrat, she warned that the party shouldn’t take her support for granted.

Perez, a medical assistant originally from Mexico, supports Stacey Abrams (D) for governor. “She just has a lot of the values that I have,” she said. “She represents a lot family-wise… what I want for my kids as far as schools, as far as what she plans to do for the state.”

Perez said she is “not for abortion, but at the same time, I work in the medical field, and I do know there are unfortunate situations where abortion is called for.”

Perez’s family of six has been pinched by rising food costs, but she doesn’t blame one party. “I think it’s both parties — in the past and in the present,” she said. “Past decisions make the present. Present decisions will make the future.”

Circleville, Ohio: Circleville Pumpkin Show

Interviews by Randy Ludlow, photos by Maddie McGarvey

The 115-year-old pumpkin show attracts hundreds of thousands in celebration of all things orange orb, particularly food, such as pumpkin chili and pumpkin fudge. “The Greatest Free Show on Earth” is a must-stop for statewide candidates. Voters here cited education, inflation and abortion among their top concerns.

Gloria Reid, 78

Reid is a “full-fledged Democrat” who believes Congress desperately needs to bring in younger members. For 30 years, the retiree worked for the county to administer the food stamp program. Fittingly, she rates food insecurity as her top concern.

Abortion access is also on her mind. “People have a right to do what they want with their own bodies,” said the mother of three, grandmother of eight and great-grandmother of one.

Bruce Stepp, 47

Stepp, who owns a small construction company in southern Ohio, is a Donald Trump defender who plans to vote GOP.

Without Republicans in control of Congress, Stepp fears ongoing inflation will leave Americans circling a financial drain. “We’re heading for 2008, or worse, unless something changes,” he said, citing cutbacks in his family’s spending.

His top concern centers on what he calls the “entitlement mentality” among those reliant on government assistance to pay the bills. “We’re teaching young people the entitlement game,” he said. “Republicans will make a difference by not letting people get out of working.”

Heidi Arthur, 59

Arthur, a freelance camera operator from a Columbus suburb, describes herself as an independent. She voted twice for Trump but said she is still deciding who to support in the tight Senate race between Rep. Tim Ryan (D) and Republican J.D. Vance.

She worries about the economy and inflation under President Biden. “The economy was great with Trump in office,” she said.

Arthur expects Democrats to turn out heavily to vote due to abortion restrictions. “I’m pro-life, but there’s a lot of angry people who will go to the polls.”

Photo editing by Christine Nguyen and Natalia Jiménez. Copy editing by Emily Morman. Story editing by Amanda Erickson. Design and development by Stephanie Hays. Design editing by Madison Walls.