Episode 8: Of Mushrooms and Midterms

How Pennsylvania Voted on Foreign Policy

It’s Election Day in the U.S. Americans across the country head to the polls to cast their vote in this year’s midterm elections. Much is at stake for the Biden administration: Republicans are poised to take control of the House of Representatives, if not both houses of Congress.

What are the issues motivating Americans to vote (or not)? A month after we at the Eurasia Group Foundation released its annual survey of Americans’ foreign policy views, EGF’s Caroline Gray and Lucas Robinson traveled to Pennsylvania, the site of one of this year’s fiercest Senate races. Caroline and Lucas spoke with Pennsylvanians in Kennett Square, the self-proclaimed mushroom capital of the world, and West Chester to hear about the issues they care about most. Though foreign policy is not at the top of most Americans’ minds when they cast their ballot, they have a lot to say about the war in Ukraine and how much of America’s tax dollars should be spent on defense.

This podcast episode includes references to the Eurasia Group Foundation, now known as the Institute for Global Affairs.

Archival

“NBC News Poll: 72 Percent Of Voters Say U.S. Is Headed In The Wrong Direction Ahead Of Midterms,” (MSNBC, November 6, 2022)
“Key races in midterm elections,” (CBS New York, November 7, 2022)
“The Inside Story | Midterm Elections 2022,” (Voice of America, October 27, 2022)
“US midterm elections outlook darkens for Biden,” (Reuters, October 25, 2022)
“What to expect during the crucial midterm elections,” (Fox News, November 6, 2022)
“Key issues impacting voters ahead of the midterms,” (CBS News, August 16, 2022)
“Fetterman Maintains Slim Lead Over Oz In New Polling,” (MSNBC, November 3, 2022)
“Fetterman pushes back on Oz's claims that he's soft on crime,” (CBS News, November 4, 2022)

Transcript:

MARK HANNAH: Welcome to None of the Above, a podcast of the Eurasia Group Foundation. My name is Mark Hannah. Today, Americans head to the polls.

Interlude featuring archival audio

HANNAH: This week, we turn our attention to a race which could determine the control of the Senate.

Interlude featuring archival audio

HANNAH: Our producers, Caroline Gray and Lucas Robinson, rented a car and headed out of New York City to go speak with the voters in Pennsylvania on what's influencing their decision on Election Day. They stopped in the self-proclaimed “mushroom capital of the world,” Kennett Square, which is in Chester County. Now, in recent years, mushroom farmers have been hit hard by cheap imports from Canada and China and a shortage of domestic labor. With that, we turn it over to Lucas.

LUCAS ROBINSON: We first spoke to Dale, a Pennsylvania voter who we met at Two Stones Pub. Dale is the director of the county's housing authority and was the perfect person to help us get our bearings.

DALE, PA CONSTITUENT: Chester County is a very rich county. It's the richest county in Pennsylvania. The average family income is over $100,000. So, it's hard to find housing for people because it's so expensive. There is a very large Mexican population. You probably know this, but the mushroom capital of the world is Chester County.

CAROLINE GRAY: I just had mushroom soup.

DALE: It's something like 70 percent of the mushrooms in the United States are produced here. Almost everyone working there is an alien of some type. And if you go down the road here, another two or three miles, you're going to be in an area that is almost entirely Mexican background.

ROBINSON: For most of the voters we spoke to, it was the big-ticket issues much closer to home that drove them to the polls, like the economy and gas prices. And of course, hot-button issues like abortion and guns were also top of mind.

GRAY: Are you voting on Tuesday?

JIM, PA CONSTUENT: Yes, I am.

GRAY: Are you undecided or do you know?

JIM: I know who I'm voting for.

GRAY: And what are the main issues influencing your decision?

JIM: Gun control, abortion, taxes, gas prices—those are the things that affect me.

IAN, PA CONSTITUENT: I am upset our gas prices are so high, and other countries that produce a lot of gas—their gas prices for their citizens aren’t as high.

PA CONSTITUENT: Top of mind is probably climate change, reproductive rights, and LGBTQIA rights as well.

ROBINSON: Though most voters we spoke with knew exactly who they were voting for on Tuesday, some were still undecided, either because neither party's platform completely aligned with their views or because they are simply frustrated with polarization and the large sums of money spent by candidates.

IAN: So, yeah, a lot. I have a lot of issues with both parties. I have a gay brother who's married to a man, and he's looking forward to living his life with their child and not having that be an issue in the future. But I do have issues with Democrats as far as the gun issue. I don't necessarily agree with people taking away a lot of the gun rights we have. So, that's kind of my catch-22.

JESSE, PA CONSTITUENT: You're going to fucking play all these goddamn commercials and all this bullshit, and you could actually be fucking helping people with that money. And that's where I'm turned off by the whole political agenda, because if you wanted to help people, you spend your money on something worth spending money on.

ROBINSON: Foreign policy issues are generally not the highest priority among voters. But we're curious whether defense spending, the war in Ukraine, and America's relations with China played a role in how these Pennsylvania voters cast their ballot.

GRAY: Are there any global issues or foreign policy issues you're thinking about?

JIM: Just wondering what's happening over in Ukraine.

INGO, PA CONSTITUENT: I think Ukraine is on number one on my list.

ROBINSON: Russia's war in Ukraine and America's handling of the conflict was a top foreign policy issue for many of the voters we talked to. Many approved of America's response so far and its support for Ukraine. Some, however, are concerned with the conflict's potential to escalate.

The views we heard in our discussions in Chester County tended to reflect what were found in a recent public opinion survey of voting-age Americans we, at the Eurasia Group Foundation, published last month. More survey-takers than not think the United States responded well to Russia's war in Ukraine. Nearly 46% of these Americans think it's because the United States strengthened the Ukrainian resistance through military aid. Still, avoiding a direct conflict between the United States and Russia was ranked the number one American goal.

DALE: I'm very much in support of Ukraine and in that situation and the amount of assistance we're providing there.

INGO: I'm astonished at how well this administration has managed to work the consensus of the civilized world in the West in support of Ukraine. I cannot believe how well Zelenskyy has done in in orchestrating and reflecting his country's wishes––its wishes to be an independent country. And I hope we have the stamina, the will, the energy, and the resources here to keep supporting them, because I think he, with help from many countries, including the US, is beating the effin’ Russians.

NURSING ASSISTANT, PA CONSTITUENT: I think we have handled the war in Ukraine well. It's difficult not wanting to escalate things with Russia and putting us in World War III. I think as long as we continue to support Ukraine, and we hold all our allies accountable to continue to support Ukraine as long as they need, because we can't allow another country to fall under authoritarianism, again. We have to protect democracies—all of them, no matter how big or small.

ROBINSON: Yet others, emphasizing the economic ramifications of the war, were less supportive of America's handling of the conflict.

IAN: I feel like we're getting kind of screwed in the US as far as our oil prices. I feel like some of that money could be saved and distributed to people like me that drive for a living.

GRAY: Do you have an opinion on how well we've been responding?

JIM: I don't think we've really been responding at all. I mean, yeah, they talk, but that's all they do. So, no, I don't think we're making any headway or any kind of response.

GRAY: Do you have a sense of what we should be doing?

JIM: Hate to say it, but I think we ought to put troops on the ground.

ROBINSON: Concern with Washington's current approach was found among voters from both ends of the political spectrum. And while some voters, like Jim, a veteran who we just heard from, wants the US to do more in Ukraine by putting boots on the ground, Guillermo, who you'll hear from next, thinks we're probably doing too much.

GUILLERMO, PA CONSTITUENT: My feeling is I think America, as a nation of freedom, has responded good. But it costs a lot of money to the country. Money that belongs to the taxpayers. Billions of dollars going to a situation happening between Russia and Ukraine when we have unsolved murders here in America. That's what I see. That's my feeling.

ROBINSON: All of this is important in the context of what happens today at the polls. Some expect a Republican takeover in Congress will complicate the Biden administration's effort to support Ukraine with weapons and other forms of military aid. Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who is more than likely to become the speaker of the House should Republicans take control on Tuesday, made many worried when he said he would not approve blank check assistance to Ukraine. But such views could be unfounded. Republicans remain largely supportive of helping Ukraine. And as you've heard, with a few exceptions, voters don't necessarily want the United States to do less. The preferences of voters are nuanced. This is very evident when it comes to defense spending.

NURSING STUDENT: I feel like we should take a look at what we're spending our money on and making sure it's going towards all the right things, because people get these contracts—military contracts— and kind of take advantage of the system, and they're sucking a lot of money out. So, just making sure—okay, I understand why we want to have a strong defense just because, as the history of the United States, we've taken a huge part in destabilizing a lot of countries. And we made a lot of enemies along the way. So, I understand why we would want to protect ourselves, but we also have to make sure we are allocating our tax dollars to things that also support things here at home. We're allocating funding towards things like Medicaid and making sure people have things to eat, people have affordable health care, people have affordable child care, people have affordable education—other things that also help the country grow. Also things that will help the economy grow. So, I feel like a lot of that spending could be used towards other things to help out this country.

DALE: Well, I think it's a necessary thing. I don't think it's a bad thing, but I think it's a necessary thing. It's like the Ukraine-Russian situation right now. If we didn't have a very strong defense—and even if the strongest part is something we never want to use—but we've got it here, and we can use it. It keeps thing things, I think, in order there from what they could have been. And so, I'm in favor of strong defense spending, but I'm also in favor of strong spending for affordable housing in the United States. That's a huge issue here in this county.

INGO: Having spent close to 40 years working for the Department of Defense, either on the inside or as a consultant, I have to say we're not doing it well enough. We're doing pretty good in many fields, in many areas. However, our approach to profligate spending in the Pentagon is not constructive, and somehow we have to figure out a better path of moderating spending for our defense, which is essential and crucial. And I don't want to underestimate the importance of it. However, we can do better.

ROBINSON: While many support America doing what it is doing now in Ukraine, they also want America's priorities to be balanced, something they also want reflected in Washington's budgets. So, when it comes to defense spending, perhaps it’s not a question of whether the Pentagon should spend more or less on the military, but how it could be smarter and more efficient with its spending. In our survey, we found a near-majority want the US to maintain its defense budget. And if the folks we talked to in Pennsylvania are any indication, these survey takers may want Washington to spend the money it already has, but better. Foreign policy may not be the deciding factor for American voters. But this doesn't mean they are not thinking about these issues. At the same time, commonly used labels—like hawks and doves—fail to adequately capture the range of voters’ views. Many would like Washington to think more carefully in conducting foreign policy in light of conflicting international and domestic priorities.

HANNAH: That was Lucas Robinson, an external relations associate here at the Eurasia Group Foundation.

Now, if you haven't yet, please check out our latest US public opinion survey, “Rethinking American Strength: What Divides and Unites Voting-Age Americans.” It's out on our website, egfound.org.

I'm Mark Hannah, and this has been another episode of None of the Above, a podcast of the Eurasia Group Foundation. We’re an organization which strives to help policymakers better understand the priorities and interests of American voters.

Thanks so much to all of the voters we spoke with in Pennsylvania last week. Thanks also go out to the None of the Above team. Our producer is Carolina Gray. Our associate producer and editor is Sarah Leeson. And you just heard Lucas Robinson, who joined us as a guest host for this episode. If you enjoyed what you've heard, do subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or anywhere else you find podcasts. Rate and review us, and if there's a topic you want us to cover, send us an email info@noneoftheabovepodcast.org. Thanks for joining us. Happy voting.

(END.)

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