At the weekday farmers market in Athens, Ohio, colorful vegetables are on display for patrons to purchase, community members interact with each other and vendors and one another. It feels like most people in attendance know one another on some personal level. For a small town like Athens, the farmers market is a gathering place.
"Our Saturday markets have been fully at capacity," said Paige Walters, the Athens farmers market promotions manager. Athens, Ohio is home to Ohio University. The city is, like many college towns, pretty liberal.
But that's not the case in most of the Appalachian communities in the region. Walters noticed that this year, for the first time in a while, the Athens County Republican Party has set up a table at the market. "I think that does speak to the political climate right now – that it's pretty competitive," she said.
Despite its past as a swing state, Ohio is now considered to be reliably Republican. This election is a little different. With toss-up races for governor and U.S.
Senate, Democrats have a chance to win statewide. But if Democrats want to win, they have to capture voters who voted for Republicans in the past. That includes the rural Ohio voter base, which historically leans conservative.
While rural voters nationwide have voted red in the past (they backed Trump in 2024 by 40 points), recent polling has shown his approval rating in rural America dropping dramatically amid high inflation, tariffs and the war in Iran. Democrats are trying to gain ground in the unexpected areas. That's especially true in the competitive Senate match up between Sen.
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