‘I think they need to get a good old redneck in the office to run the place,’ says one self-described hillbilly, as many others struggle to afford groceries.
The route along the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from Virginia into Tennessee and North Carolina winds through green pastures, steep gaps, and sleepy towns.
A four-lane blacktop highway runs from southwest Virginia into Tennessee, where Interstate 40 leads to the Dixie Highway, which leads into the North Carolina mountains.
Poverty is part of the culture in the southern Appalachians, but the people are a resourceful breed that believes in God and hard work. Appalachia has deep gospel roots from a time when it wasn’t uncommon for the faithful to speak in tongues.
They love America and worry about what might become of her.
Folks in the Appalachian region told The Epoch Times that affording groceries to feed their families is the top concern. Some worried about all the illegal immigrants coming into the country and the government funding foreign wars instead of taking care of problems at home.
Others mentioned the need for affordable health care and abortion access.
Several said they distrust Washington, where politicians promise one thing, then do another once elected.
Many told The Epoch Times they were independents who will vote for former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), a self-described hillbilly who grew up in Appalachia.
Several Democrats in the region, which is considered solid red, declined to be interviewed. Others said they like Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, because of their strong stance on abortion and health care and their promise to bring down the costs of housing.
One man said he didn’t think Trump was a good person, so Harris won his vote.
To outsiders, it might seem counterintuitive for poor, rural folks to support Trump, who is a billionaire.
Conservatives who spoke to The Epoch Times said that if anyone could help America’s economy, it would be Trump because of his business experience and because he was so rich he couldn’t be bought.
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