Want to know who will win in Biden vs. Trump? Listen to rural voters in Erie County, Pa.

Erie County, in the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania, is often referred to as a bellwether for predicting both state and national elections. As Erie County votes, so follows the country. The city of Erie, a blue bastion, sits on a lake surrounded by suburbs that tend to turn red as you move further from the city center toward the farming areas that encompass the rest of the county.

In my conversations with rural voters there, I’ve noted that many people have both a hard work ethic and a strong sense of patriotism. The people of rural Erie County tend to believe they are fortunate to live in America, and they think our government should work for the people — not the reverse. They see former President Donald Trump as an individual who places the hardworking people of the country first over all others.

Many rural voters view President Joe Biden’s actions on energy as detrimental to their way of life. These are people who farm to supplement their income and have experienced hardship due to Biden’s war on energy. Increased fuel prices mean it is more expensive to use farming equipment and to ferry goods to market. Many blue-collar workers have 30-minute or longer drives to work. In 2020, when Biden was elected, the average cost of gas was $2.39 per gallon. In 2022, the cost was double or more. Today in Pennsylvania, the cost is around $3.54. Voters are feeling the difference.

Another hot-button issue is immigration. Rural Erie Countians see the large number of immigrants at the southern border and growing immigration crisis — which Biden stoked with 94 executive actions to loosen immigration restrictions — as hurting the fabric of the country. They work hard to pay their taxes, raise their families, and follow the law. They resent that individuals who have never contributed anything of value to the country are, in some cases, being treated better than the average citizen, and especially veterans.

I hear often that the current administration is focused on destroying anyone with contrasting views. Concern arises when they view a two-tiered system of justice coming from the U.S. Department of Justice and liberal attorneys general. Pro-life individuals are arrested for praying outside an abortion clinic, and the destruction of pregnancy clinics is not adequately investigated. They see Biden, who removed classified documents from a secure location, escape prosecution while Trump is being prosecuted for having documents that many ex-presidents have.

Some rural voters revealed that they no longer watch mainstream media due to the overwhelming bias against conservative-minded individuals. They view the metropolitan areas of the East and West Coasts as havens for liberal policies that undermine the fabric of American culture. For example, during the recent 60 Minutes interview with Moms for Liberty, Scott Pelley didn’t seem to understand that providing sexually explicit material to elementary schoolchildren was a form of indoctrination that is unacceptable to rural America.

Rural voters in Erie County are not against progress. What concerns us is the government deciding the direction of the economy and moving toward centralized control. We do not reject green energy, but we feel the capitalist system is able to integrate new energy products better than a government mandate.

Common sense rules our everyday decisions. Common sense does not justify the record-high numbers of migrants crossing into our country at the southern border. Common sense doesn’t account for spending trillions of dollars the country does not have, which, in turn, raises the cost of everyday essentials. Common sense does not justify spending billions of dollars defending other nations’ borders while allowing the near-unrestricted flow of people across our borders. Common sense does not allow for our president to accuse half the nation of being a threat to democracy because they didn’t vote for him. Common sense says that a government should look for avenues to bring the nation together, rather than divide its citizens.

Rural Erie County citizens wish to peacefully raise their families, follow the law, work hard, be proud patriots of the country believing in the Constitution, and know that the government, and those within the government, are there to work for the citizen — not the other way around.

Tom Eddy is the head of the Republican Party in Erie County, Pa.