election 2016

The electoral tussles over 1-cent-per-ounce soda taxes in San Francisco and Oakland are becoming two of the most expensive campaigns in California this year with more than $46 million in donations, says public broadcaster KQED. The American Beverage Association has spent $28.7 million in fighting the taxes, said KQED, noting the nationwide ramification of referendums.

Traditionally Republican rural America, where many residents are social and fiscal conservatives, will vote overwhelmingly for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, according to a poll commissioned by DTN/The Progressive Farmer. The telephone survey found 46 percent supported Trump, 24 percent backed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, 10 percent said they were vote for a third-party candidate and 20 percent were undecided or preferred "none of the above."

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller got himself in hot water when a tweet went out from his account calling Hillary Clinton the c-word. Miller, who was nominated by Donald Trump to serve as co-chair (along with GOP funder Charles Herbster) on Trump’s Agricultural and Rural Ag Committee, initially said his Twitter account had been hacked. Later, however, his staff admitted that the fault was theirs. They claimed they had retweeted another tweet without realizing it contained vulgar language.

The huge difference in the way urbanites and rural residents view government and society is the "San Andreas fault" of American politics, says the Daily Yonder in summarizing a study by two University of Virginia researchers. Rural Americans are twice as likely to feel left behind as urban residents, with the highest levels of disaffection found among males, Baby Boomers and those in the least populated parts of the country.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump promised to protect the Renewable Fuel Standard and corn-based ethanol, eliminate burdensome regulations like the Waters of the United States rule ("which is a disaster") and provide tax relief to farmers in a speech in Des Moines over the weekend, says the Des Moines Register. Trump also said he would use immigration laws to prevent crime. "We will move justly but we will move fast, believe me. And we will move tough," he said.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who served two terms as governor of Iowa, says Democrats can make inroads in traditionally Republican rural America this fall due to misgivings among voters about GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. Appearing on "The Axe Files,"a podcast produced by CNN and the University of Chicago, Vilsack said Democrats have a "unique opportunity" but have to act on it to benefit.

Third-term Rep. Todd Rokita, sponsor of the Republican-backed school lunch bill in the House, abandoned his re-election campaign two weeks ago to vie for the suddenly available GOP nomination in Indiana. Party leaders chose Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb instead, so Rokita will try to get back on the November ballot, said Morning Consult.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump aims for a large voter turnout in rural areas as a key to winning the Nov. 8 election and will attack federal regulation, a popular target in farm country, says Agri-Pulse. Trump scored well in rural America, a traditionally conservative and Republican-leaning area, during primary elections, according to the Daily Yonder.

The presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Hillary Clinton, seemed likely to choose Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine as her running mate, although Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also was a possibility, said published reports. Clinton could announce her choice as early as this afternoon while campaigning in Florida.

In a call to public officials and candidates from the local office to the White House, the National Farmers Union urged "an increase in price supports or (an) economic disaster declaration" to boost federal support for ranchers and growers facing the third year of an income slump. It was the strongest statement yet by a farm organization about the collapse in commodity prices that began in 2014.

Republicans failed to recruit a top-tier challenger, so Rep. Collin Peterson, the Democratic leader on the House Agriculture Committee, has a clear path to election to his 14th term in Congress, says the political tipsheet Sabato's Crystal Ball. A "blue dog," fiscally conservative Democrat, Peterson represents a rural Republican-leaning district that gave a 10-point margin to the GOP presidential nominee in 2012.

Businessman Donald Trump says he will look to Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad for advice on ethanol, a favorite fuel in farm country but under perennial attack as a boondoggle, reported the Des Moines Register. Branstad "is a tremendous guy and a friend of mine, and we're going to talk about it," Trump said at a news conference in North Dakota ahead of a speech on energy policy.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke wryly about the approaching end of his eight-year run in the Obama cabinet during a session with organic producers — "there'll be an opening in about six months" — and said he expects to return to Iowa.

Three members of the Senate Agriculture Committee — Joni Ernst of Iowa, David Perdue of Georgia and John Thune of South Dakota — are on the long list of potential running mates for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. "Perhaps the buzziest" is Ernst, elected to the Senate in 2014, says political website Sabato's Crystal Ball.