KINGS COUNTY, Calif. \u2013 Charles Meyer grows a cornucopia of crops on his 1,500 acres in Stratford, a rural community about 10 miles outside of the city of Hanford.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re growing wheat, we’re growing alfalfa, we’re growing almonds, we’re growing pistachios,\u201d he said on a recent autumn morning, gazing out of a trailer on his property.<\/p>\n
But this third-generation farmer has a clear favorite. He plucks an airy white ball of fluff off a brown stalk about the height of his knees.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is Pima cotton,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is very high quality fiber.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Charles Meyer, a farmer in Stratford, Kings County, opposes proposition 50 \u2013 and Democratic leadership in general \u2013 because he feels environmental regulations long pushed by Democrats are slowly edging farmers out of business.<\/p>\n
Kings County is one of three agricultural counties that make up District 22, represented by Republican Congressman David Valadao.<\/p>\n
Dairy farms, vineyards and tidy rows of tomato plants, orange trees and corn stalks bring in billions of dollars a year to this region and provide tens of thousands of jobs.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a point of pride for Meyer.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou become attached to the ground,\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s like our boys in the military, they give their life for the country. We feel about our ground about like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meyer wants elected leaders who feel that way, too \u2014 like Valadao, who used to be a dairy farmer. He was first elected to Congress in 2012 and has been reelected in almost every election since then.<\/p>\n
But now Valadao is in danger of losing his seat. On Tuesday, California\u2019s voters will decide whether to support Proposition 50, Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s plan to counter surprise redistricting in Texas and other red states.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a gerrymandering attempt by the state\u2019s Democratic leaders to flip five Republican seats \u2014 including Valadao\u2019s \u2014 for Democrats.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Meyer examines a Pima cotton plant that\u2019s nearly ready for harvest.<\/p>\n
If voters vote \u201cyes\u201d on Prop 50 next month, District 22 would stretch out \u2014 almost twice as long \u2014 in order to gain Democratic voters from neighboring counties and give Democrats a better shot at winning.<\/p>\n
And that worries farmers in Valadao\u2019s district, including Meyer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t want anything that would help Democrats gain power,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Democrats have lost favor among Valley farmers<\/p>\n
In the last few decades, California\u2019s legislators, mostly Democrats, have pushed a slew of environmental regulations aimed at protecting resources like air, water and ecosystems \u2014 but they also restrict the use of groundwater, fertilizer and pesticides.<\/p>\n
Meyer considers that regulatory overreach, and he blames Democrats for rising farming costs and slumping profits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they gain power, negative things happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a common opinion. Signs reading \u201cVote No on Prop 50\u201d line highways in Kings and neighboring counties, alongside banners urging Newsom to be recalled.<\/p>\n
A few miles away from Meyer, in Hanford, Doug Verboon doesn\u2019t support Prop 50, either.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s a walnut farmer and a Kings County supervisor. Earlier this fall, the Republican and his fellow supervisors formally opposed the partisan redistricting plan that would change district maps through the next three election cycles.<\/p>\n
Supervisors have passed similar resolutions in many other San Joaquin Valley counties \u2014 including Tulare and Kern counties, which also constitute parts of Valadao\u2019s district.<\/p>\n
Verboon said gerrymandering isn\u2019t just about the existential question of who controls the House of Representatives. He also said Congress matters here. Federal legislators pass laws that can influence exports, trade decisions, and water flows that determine farmer incomes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kings County Supervisor and walnut farmer Doug Verboon warns that prop 50 will silence the voices of California\u2019s rural residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want our congressmen and our senators to promote agriculture in Central California. And when it comes to our congressman, we need someone that understands it that doesn’t have to have it explained to him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Verboon isn\u2019t unilaterally opposed to a representative who\u2019s left of center. In fact, he once endorsed a Democratic challenger of Valadao. But he wants redistricting to be done according to law.<\/p>\n
One of his arguments is that this measure, which is happening in an off-year and requires voter approval for a map that was produced by a private consultant, unfairly bypasses the independent state commission that was created to draw district lines.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do it every 10 years and we have a process in place that works,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Valadao appeals to voters on both sides of the aisle<\/p>\n
At first glance, Republicans would appear to have the upper hand in District 22. Valadao has held onto his seat almost continuously since 2012 \u2014 except for the 2018 midterms, when Democrat TJ Cox was elected for one term \u2014 and Republican-registered voters outnumber Democrats in the three counties that make up the district.<\/p>\n
By the numbers, however, District 22 actually has a Democratic advantage already.<\/p>\n
According to state voter registration data, Democrats make up nearly 40% of the district\u2019s registered voters, compared to 28% Republicans and 24% who chose No Party Preference.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what makes this seat such a target for fundraising, said Blake Zante, Executive Director of the Maddy Institute, a non-profit public policy institute based at Fresno State University.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s one of the most highly targeted races by both Republicans and Democrats right now,\u201d Zante said. \u201cDemocrats have been targeting the seat for well over a decade ever since David Valadao was elected.\u201d<\/p>\n
If prop 50 passes, Democrats here are expected to move from a slightly favorable to moderately favorable.<\/p>\n
Zante agrees that agriculture and water access remain some of the more important local issues determined by Congress \u2014 and that Valadao has a track record of supporting a lot of them.<\/p>\n
Since 2012, the Congressman has sponsored or co-sponsored more than 100 pieces of legislation related to ag and water infrastructure.<\/p>\n
He was also involved in a bipartisan push to support the sweeping Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016 \u2014 which was also supported by nearby Congressman Jim Costa, Senator Dianne Feinstein and many other Democrats and Republicans from both chambers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s a perfect case study as to how important it is to have a Valley voice representing at the table when it comes to agriculture,\u201d Zante said.<\/p>\n
As for how Valadao has held on to his seat for so long, Zante points to relatively low recent voter turnout, as well as Valadao\u2019s appeal to No Party Preference voters and even moderate Democrats.<\/p>\n
For instance, many still remember that Valadao was one of only 10 Republican Representatives who voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6 riots in Washington, D.C. Valadao has also spoken out against immigration raids at workplaces and has co-sponsored legislation supporting permanent residency for DACA recipients.<\/p>\n
Whether Valadao is truly a moderate is up for debate. But Zante said the appearance of being a moderate is strategic.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid Valadao needs Democrats to elect him,\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s just simple math.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many Democrats support the new maps<\/p>\n
Publicly, Valadao has been mum on the issue of redistricting. A spokesperson also declined to make him available for an interview or answer multiple questions asked by KVPR.<\/p>\n
The Democratic base, however, supports the redistricting measure\u2013including Karla Orosco of Hanford. On a bright Friday morning earlier this month, the retired science teacher was holding up a sign in nearby Lemoore.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Karla Orosco, a retired teacher in Hanford, helps organize weekly \u201cbridge brigades\u201d on overpasses in Kings County with members of the Kings County Democrats.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sign says \u2018yes on prop 50, temporary maps,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Orosco helps organize a \u201cbridge brigade\u201d of volunteers from the Kings County Democrats organization who meet weekly to hang signs on overpasses throughout the county.<\/p>\n
None of the dozen volunteers here today are farmers. They\u2019re angry that Valadao hasn\u2019t hosted an in-person town hall in more than a year, and that he voted to cut Medicaid earlier this year as part of President Donald Trump\u2019s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A shirt worn by one of the many bridge brigade volunteers.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s despite the fact that two-thirds of Valadao\u2019s constituents rely on Medicaid, and in the weeks leading up to the vote, he had even said publicly that he wouldn\u2019t support major cuts to the safety-net health insurance program.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s going to hurt a lot of people and that’s going to wake a lot of people up when the healthcare premiums go up,\u201d Orosco said.<\/p>\n
Bridge brigade volunteer Rebecca Camarena of Lemoore, in Republican Congressman Vince Fong\u2019s district, said signs here run the gambit of Democratic priorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur main message this week is \u2018stop the shutdown, release the [Jeffrey Epstein] files,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cWe have \u2018wake up before it’s too late,\u2019 we have signs about ICE following the laws, \u2018I love due process,\u2019 it’s all sorts of issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite Kings County\u2019s Republican plurality, she said drivers have overall been supportive of their demonstrations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had somebody pull off to the side last week and say \u2018God bless you,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cOccasionally we get a middle finger raised\u2026but we\u2019ve never had any pull over and yell at us.\u201d<\/p>\n
She and Orosco hope voters will come out and do the right thing in the election on Tuesday. There\u2019s just no clear consensus here on what the right thing is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KINGS COUNTY, Calif. \u2013 Charles Meyer grows a cornucopia of crops on his 1,500 acres in Stratford, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1955,23816,23817,7,9,8,23818,14021,1751,536,23819,11159],"class_list":["post-32963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-agriculture","tag-blake-zante","tag-bridge-brigade","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-cotton","tag-david-valadao","tag-democrats","tag-donald-trump","tag-doug-verboon","tag-farmers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}