佐治亚州杜利县正值收获季节，李·戴维斯今年不太好过。他的农场每周要烧掉3000加仑柴油，而据美国汽车协会（AAA）称，佐治亚州的柴油价格上个月创下了历史新高。即便不算燃油，戴维斯估计他的成本也比去年上涨了37%。
It’s harvest season in Dooly County, Georgia, and Lee Davis is having a tough year. His farm is burning through 3,000 gallons of diesel a week, and diesel prices in Georgia hit a record high last month, according to AAA. Even excluding gas, Davis estimates his costs are up 37 percent from last year.
戴维斯是个自豪的无党派人士，他把这很大程度上归咎于总统唐纳德·特朗普——尤其是伊朗战争，这是油价高涨的主要原因。他认为特朗普“被内塔尼亚胡抓住了命根子”，并没有为美国人民的利益行事。但这种不满或许不足以让他在11月把票投给民主党人。
Davis, a proud independent, blames President Donald Trump for much of that — especially the war in Iran, the primary driver of high fuel prices. He thinks Trump is “held by the balls by Netanyahu” and isn’t acting in the interest of the American people. But that frustration may not be enough to put him behind a Democrat in November.
“我觉得如果有一个头脑冷静的人出来竞选，那才是大家想要的，”戴维斯告诉MS NOW。“两党推出来的好像都是小丑，简直是一场马戏团大戏。”他倾向于在州长竞选中支持共和党人里克·杰克逊，而参议员竞选中他还没拿定主意。在参议员竞选中，乔恩·奥索夫加入了民主党人向农村选民示好的浪潮——民调显示，这个传统上的保守派群体对特朗普处理经济的方式感到不满。
“I feel if someone level headed would run, that’s what everyone wants,” Davis told MS NOW. “Both parties seem to be fronting only clowns, and it’s a giant circus.”He’s leaning toward Republican Rick Jackson in the governor’s race and is still undecided in the Senate race. There, Sen. Jon Ossoff has joined a wave of Democrats reaching out to rural farm voters, a traditionally conservative bloc that polls show is unhappy with Trump’s handling of the economy.
随着摇摆州竞选进入选举周期的最后阶段，问题在于这种示好能否奏效。MS NOW采访的全美农民几乎都表示，他们对高昂的生产成本越来越不满，并将矛头指向特朗普政府的政策。但很少有人确信，这种不满会转化为大规模倒戈支持民主党——这些农民说，许多民主党人仍然在农村选民最关心的农业问题上跟不上节奏，或者在这些问题上根本无所作为。
As swing races enter their final stretch of the election cycle, the question is whether that outreach will work. Nearly every farmer MS NOW interviewed nationwide said they are increasingly frustrated by high production costs, which they blame on Trump administration policies. But few were confident that frustration would translate into widespread defections to Democrats — many of whom, these farmers said, are still behind on the farm issues rural voters care about most, or simply ineffective on them.
约翰·巴特曼是伊利诺伊州民主党人，其家族农场历史可追溯至1846年。他表示，各地农民都面临艰难时期，但民主党人处境尤为不利，因为他们除了负担能力外几乎鲜有表态。他特别提到了遗产税和美国水域规则——该规则决定哪些溪流、湿地和其他水体属于联邦监管范围。一些农民担心，民主党会利用拜登时期对该规则的修订，让他们背负巨额许可和清理成本。
John Bartman, an Illinois Democrat whose family farm dates to 1846, said times are tough for farmers everywhere, but Democrats face an uphill battle because they’ve said little about anything beyond affordability. He pointed in particular to the inheritance tax and to the Waters of the United States rule, which determines which streams, wetlands and other waters fall under federal regulation. Some farmers fear Democrats would use a Biden-era revision of the rule to saddle them with massive permitting and cleanup costs.
巴特曼表示，这些问题“很少被民主党候选人提及”，而特朗普及环保署署长李·泽尔丁等行政官员在过去一年的公开演讲中均有涉及。农业部周二还在其网站上启动了一项新的“农民优先”计划，这是农业部长布鲁克·罗林斯在中期选举前巩固农民对共和党支持的举措之一。
Those issues “very seldom get brought up by Democratic candidates,” according to Bartman, while Trump and administration officials like EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin have addressed issues public speeches in the past year. The Department of Agriculture also launched a new “Farmers First” initiative on its website Tuesday, part of Agriculture Sec. Brooke Rollins’s push to solidify farmers’ support for the GOP ahead of the midterms.
38岁的威利斯·尼尔森和他36岁的弟弟考特尼是路易斯安那州松德海默的第三代农民。他们说，尽管生产成本上涨引发广泛不满，但民主党仍需克服同龄人中的政治冷漠情绪，其中一些人怀疑民主党无法为他们的经济压力提供解决方案。
Willis Nelson, 38, and his brother Courtney, 36, are third-generation farmers in Sondheimer, Louisiana. They said that despite widespread frustration over rising production costs, Democrats still have to overcome apathy among their peers, some of whom doubt the party has answers for their financial strain.
38岁的威利斯说：“这个州有足够多的人觉得自己的选票无关紧要，或者对政治漠不关心。我只是认为不会有足够多的人出来投票（支持民主党）。”除了怀疑态度，这些家庭农民还表达了对两党的不信任，而仅靠一个选举周期可能不足以修复这种信任。
”It’s enough people in this state that don’t feel that their vote count or don’t care about politics,” Willis, 38, said. “I just don’t think it’s gonna be enough people to turn out to vote [for Democrats].”Beyond skepticism, the family farmers also outlined distrust toward both political parties that one election cycle alone might not be enough to repair.
威利斯说：“我觉得他们把我们当作拍照背景板。我不喜欢这样。”考特尼说得更直接。他说，大多数农民觉得没有一个政党愿意搁置党派之争，为他们提供所需的救济。
“I think they use us as a photo opp,” Willis said. “I don’t like that.”Courtney was blunter. He said most farmers feel that neither party is willing to set aside partisanship to deliver the relief they need.
“他们想要一较高下，看看民主党还是共和党谁能赢。这完全违背了初衷，”36岁的科特尼说。“无论是民主党还是共和党，他们当中没有一个人是来帮助我们中产阶级的。”尽管如此，即使对两党都持批评态度的农民也认为，民主党或许更有机会赢得新选民的支持，尽管可能远不如该党所期望的那么多。最近一项由KFF和美联社联合开展的调查显示，57%的农村选民——包括27%的农村共和党人——对特朗普处理经济的方式表示不满。
“They want to have a match, see who can win, Democrat or Republican. So it just defeating the purpose,” said Courtney, 36. “Ain’t not one of them, Democrat or Republicans, there to help us middle class.”Still, even farmers critical of both parties said Democrats may be in a stronger position to win over new voters, even if not as many as the party is likely hoping for. A recent KFF/Associated Press survey showed that 57% of rural voters — including 27% of rural Republicans — disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy.
“我认识的大多数人都来自不同背景，但他们大多更倾向于支持特朗普，”戴维斯在谈到佐治亚州南部他的同事时说。“但我会说，有10%到20%的人正在重新倾向于民主党。”在爱荷华州，高昂的柴油成本已促使一些共和党候选人与特朗普决裂，其中包括参议员候选人艾什利·欣森。进口牛肉关税放宽也引发了养牛户的不满。史蒂夫·凯珀是第四代农场主，同时担任爱荷华州玉米种植者协会主席，他表示，民主党在该州取得进展的机会仍然很大。
“Most people I know, of all walks, leaned more towards Trump,” Davis said of his colleagues in southern Georgia. “But I’d say a strong 10-20% are leaning back towards Dems.”In Iowa, high diesel costs have pushed some Republican candidates to break with Trump, including Senate nominee Ashley Hinson. So has cattle farmers’ anger over eased tariffs on imported beef. Steve Kuiper, a fourth-generation farmer who chairs the Iowa Corn Growers Association, said the opportunity for Democrats to make gains there remains significant.
“曾经有一段时间，爱荷华州确实非常民主，后来之所以转向共和党，是因为民主党没有为爱荷华州做出应有的贡献。因此，现在如果人们觉得共和党也没有为爱荷华州着想，爱荷华人就不会投票给共和党，”同时担任爱荷华州玉米种植者协会主席的凯珀说。
“There was a period where Iowa was really democratic, and so it swung Republican because the Democrats weren’t doing for Iowa, and so right now, if people feel like the Republicans aren’t doing for Iowa, Iowans are not going to vote Republican,” said Kuiper, who doubles as the chair of the Iowa Corn Growers Association.
即便如此，爱荷华州玉米种植者政治行动委员会今年早些时候仍支持了该州参议员和国会选区的共和党候选人，而这些支持不太可能改变。凯珀还指出，尽管农民们的不满显而易见，但有些人并不将高燃料成本归咎于共和党，这削弱了民主党的攻击力度。
Even so, the Iowa Corn Growers PAC endorsed Republicans in the state’s Senate and congressional races earlier this year, and those endorsements are unlikely to change. Kuiper also noted that while farmers’ frustration is palpable, some don’t blame Republicans for high fuel costs, which blunts Democrats’ attacks.
“石油公司现在正在赚大钱，所以人们往往会认为，这些虚高的燃料成本部分只是为了让某些公司获得更多利润，”他说。
“Oil companies are making huge money right now, so it tends to make you believe that some of this inflated fuel cost is just a way to make more profit for some of these companies,” he said.
在杜利县，作为第四代棉花种植者的费特·斯帕罗（Fate Sparrow）表示，目前没有任何政党真正关心农民的处境。他在五月份接受《MS NOW》采访时曾表示，退休后并不打算将农场传给自己的孩子；如今，他的这一决定更加坚定了。
Back in Dooly County, Fate Sparrow, a fourth-generation cotton farmer, said he doesn’t see either party helping farmers right now. He told MS NOW in May that he didn’t plan to pass his farm down to his children when he retires. He’s even more certain of that decision today.
“我确实热爱自己的工作，但……这一切真的不再值得了，”斯帕罗说，“我可以任由那些企业收购我的土地，让他们赚得盆满钵满，然后自己过上安逸的生活；或者，我可以继续坚持务农，但必须承担所有的风险。”他坦言，今年收成的最佳结果也只是能够勉强保本而已。由于佐治亚州的柴油价格比去年秋天上涨了近65%，像他这样的农场根本不可能盈利。这些现实让斯帕罗——这个曾经自称“坚定的共和党人”——开始重新考虑自己的政治立场。
“I love what I do and all, but it’s just — it’s not worth it anymore,” Sparrow said. “I can let these corporations and all around me buy my land and make piles of money and live the rest of my life great, or I can go out there and risk it, risk it all by keeping on farming.”Sparrow said the best case scenario for this year’s harvest is that he breaks even. With diesel prices up nearly 65% from last fall in Georgia, turning a profit is out of the question for his operation and other farms like his, Sparrow said. It’s all leading Sparrow, who once described himself as a “hardcore Republican,” to reconsider his political allegiances.
“我遇到过一些65岁的农民，他们从未投票给过民主党人；现在他们要么会投票给民主党人，要么干脆选择不再投票，”斯帕罗说。
“I’ve talked to farmers that are 65 years old and said they have never voted for a Democrat. and they’re either going to vote for Democrat or they’re just not going to vote at all,” Sparrow said.
这些选民正是民主党试图争取的对象。五月份，奥索夫（Ossoff）提出了《农业灾害减税法案》，该法案旨在为遭受自然灾害或重大收入损失的农民提供税收减免。近几个月来，其他民主党参选人（包括爱荷华州的乔什·图雷克、密歇根州的阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德以及明尼苏达州的佩吉·弗拉纳根）也向美国农村地区的选民发出了类似的呼吁。
Those are the voters Democrats are trying to reach. In May, Ossoff introduced the Farm Disaster Tax Cut Act, which would give farmers a tax cut after natural disasters or major revenue losses. Other Democratic Senate candidates have made similar appeals to rural Americans in recent months, including Josh Turek in Iowa, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota.
然而，这项法案只是众多滞留在参议院的农业法案之一；参议院目前处于休会状态，要到选举结束后才会重新开会。正如斯帕罗的例子所显示的那样，仅靠立法提案可能并不足以解决选民们对民主党的长期不满——尤其是当农民们在生活中面临如此巨大的经济压力时。
But the bill is one of a long list of agriculture measures stalled in the Senate, which is out of session until after the election. And as Sparrow’s case suggests, legislative proposals alone may not be enough to overcome voters’ long-standing concerns about the Democratic Party, even as they bleed money at the pump.
斯帕罗告诉《MS NOW》，他目前仍不确定在11月3日的选举中会支持哪个政党。
Sparrow told MS NOW he remains undecided about which party he’ll support on Nov. 3.
“我打算去[投票]，”斯帕罗告诉MS NOW。“但民主党人……当他们开始谈论说，你知道，女性参加男子运动、男性参加女子运动是可以的，这种说法会让他们无法接受。”
“I’m planning on [voting],” Sparrow told MS NOW. “But with the Democrats … when they go in there and they start talking about, you know, it’s okay for women to play men’s sports and men to play women’s sports, that kills them when they do that.”