Meet the rural Democrats of Southwest Michigan

You may think of rural West Michigan as Trump country. But Democratic voters live there too, even if they’re outnumbered.

My journey started with Austin Marsman, Democratic candidate for Michigan’s 42nd House District. He’s running against Republican incumbent Matt Hall.

I joined him in August as he knocked on doors in a small lakeside neighborhood southeast of Kalamazoo.

The 42nd district is a targeted seat for the state Democratic Party, meaning it’s a seat they think they can flip, but that means getting Marsman’s name known in the community.

“They see me come to the door, someone new, a breath of fresh air, and they appreciate that for sure,” Marsman told me.

Signs advertising Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump were plentiful in the area. But all who opened their doors were polite, even if they just took a pamphlet and headed back inside.

It was with Marsman that I met the first rural Democrat for this story, Larry Morand.

Morand’s lived in this small neighborhood for over 30 years. He’s a retired mail carrier, and now spends his time as a driver for Meals on Wheels. The weather was fair, so we went outside to talk.

Across the road from Morand is his neighbor, who flies two Trump-style American flags and a sign that reads, “Raised Right.”

But Morand is friends with that neighbor and has been for a while. The secret? Just don’t talk about politics.

“Some people, right away, say something to annoy the other person, and then it starts. So, if you’re just not so confrontational, then sure you can get along.”

But that doesn’t mean Morand keeps his beliefs to himself. He’s got a sign for Marsman and a sign for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in his front yard. And he said he’s been seeing more Harris signs crop up in the area as of late.

“I think because the Trump voters, so many of them want to advertise their beliefs, that it’s forced the hand of other people to say, ‘hey, look, we’re here too.’”

My next stop was a farm just outside of Lawton. On the way, I passed by apple orchards and vineyards and the laborers harvesting the fruit.

Robin Beacham lives in front of one of these vineyards. In fact, her family used to own it.

She said that growing up, she “just kind of had fun with it, but I never worked that hard.”

But that brought us to the topic of migrant labor, which many rural areas rely on.

“If it wasn’t for the migrant — or help, we really wouldn’t be able to get the crop in,” Robin’s husband Charles Beacham said.

While they don’t currently run a farm, Charles said he tries to help his neighbors who do.

He added that Trump’s proposal to carry out mass deportations, which Trump claims will be the largest in the country’s history, have a real chance to hurt local farms.

But as Robin noted, many in the area still support Trump.

“People that make a lot of money off the backs of immigrants and don’t really respect that they deserve the same quality of life.”

Back in 2020, Robin’s father put up a billboard-sized tarp sign on his property a couple miles away, reading “Send A Message, Vote for Democrats.”

“He’d actually got some threatening phone calls when he put that up. So, this year, he asked them to put it in a different place.”

Robin said conflict over politics has also impacted a personal relationship.

“I did have a friend that I didn’t speak to for almost three years, and we’ve since made up, but we cannot talk about it.”

She said this divide never existed before Trump ran in 2016.

“I blame it on him, for spreading so much hateful rhetoric and dividing the country.”

Robin added that things have calmed down, they’ve had no threatening phone calls or lost friends this year. So much so, that the Beachams tentatively plan to put out a sign in support of Harris.

Jan Bloom is retired, but he keeps himself busy with dog sledding and crafting string instruments like banjos.

His huskies weren’t the quiet type, so we left them upstairs and headed down to Bloom’s basement workshop.

The place was littered with tools, extension cords, wood pieces, and handmade inlays for banjo fretboards, which Bloom makes himself.

Bloom said he’s been here since the ’70s. He’s a Democrat, but his congressman, state senator, state representative, county commissioner, and township supervisor are all Republicans.

“The best you could do is hope to get an old-fashioned centrist Republican,” he said.

And while some in the area think this is how things will stay, Bloom is hopeful for change.

“I can only hope, going forward, that it does. On the other hand, I’m not sure that I’m going to be around to see it.”

For now, the area remains under Republican control, and Bloom said that leaves him feeling unrepresented.

This is especially relevant when it comes to issues that matter to him, like climate change, which Trump tells people not to worry about.

As stated previously, Bloom is musher. He’s been racing his dogsled since 2018, and he’s won his fair share of races.

“I couldn’t do anything athletic in high school. Here I’ve got, I’ve got a silver medal, a national silver medal. Oh my gosh.”

But dog sledding is hard to do without snow.

“That first year I was racing, there were five or six sled races in Michigan.”

But that’s steadily decreased according to Bloom, with snow last winter being sparse.

Despite the dwindling races, Bloom’s staying right where he is. And that’s a sentiment shared by everyone I spoke with. That, even though many of their neighbors’ views are different, they’re proud to live beside them.

“If I needed help, they’d be there to help me. If they need help, I’m there to help them,” Bloom said.

Michael Symonds reports for WMUK through the Report for America national service program. WMUK also spoke with urban Republicans. That story is coming soon.