I actually used to live not far from that farm you referenced where they were selling raw milk. They have a lovely natural foods and health products store onsite, which is owned and operated by the farmer's family. I never bought the raw milk, but they also sold a lot of their own organic produce and grass-fed meats for reasonable prices, which was great.
I can remember doing some shopping there in 2016 and, for the first time in my life, seeing an Amish buggy in the parking lot that was covered with political bumper stickers, all for Trump. I later moved, but would occasionally stop while passing through the area. I stopped in early 2020 when they seemed they were embracing far-right ideas surrounding Covid and discouraging customers from wearing masks in the store. From what I understand, there was also a lot of vaccine hesitancy (if not outright anti-vax sentiment) in the Amish community also. I wasn't aware RFK, Jr. was attending events in the Amish community, but my guess is that if he did, he would have found a receptive audience when it came to his concerns about vaccines and conventional medicine. Haven't been back since, but have heard Mr. Miller (the farmer) has gotten himself into trouble a few times in recent years for continuing to think he is above the law in regards to his milk sales. (As a sidebar, the insistence on selling non-pasteurized milk is actually sort of concerning when it comes to rising H5N1 cases in farm animals). He and his legal team tried to frame his milk sales as an issue of religious freedom, which did not make sense to me, but I have no idea if that claim resonated in his community or encouraged anyone to start voting.
But, anyway, in terms of the Amish vote in Pennsylvania, it is not a significant number. The Amish may be voting in larger numbers than in the past, but my understanding is they still typically shy away from the political process for cultural and religious reasons and they aren't a very large community in general, even in a tight race. Conservative Mennonites tend to be much more politically engaged in these regions of Pennsylvania, politician Lloyd Smucker being a good example of that. My sense, though, is that Trump's increasing success at winning over Latino voters actually played a far bigger role in his ability to flip PA than any success his party may have had with registering Amish folks and encouraging them to vote.
05 Nov 2024, 10:02 pm
