Between now and Election Day, we’re asking how 2020 has changed voters’ lives and how they think about politics.
Brandon Esch is a farmer near Fowlerville in mid-Michigan. He says he’s too busy to pay much attention to political news, but he is exhausted by the negativity of campaign season.
On the economy
"I believe Trump has got things going the right direction. Doing the trade war with China. He said it's gonna be rough for a few years. It has been. And hey, look at now where things are going back up in the right direction. Is it going to stay? Who knows. Everything is cycles.
The whole shutdown. It's been really hard, and I can't believe how well the economy is still going due to all that.
I'm not the biggest fan of what our governor has done. I felt there had to have been a better way of doing some of this. Like, there's been five businesses I know of locally, right, in Fowlerville that have shut down because of it. And they might have already been on tough times, but this didn't help them at all.
Federal, I think they’ve done a great job.
If the people need the economic help, let's help them. We got to keep people rolling. You have to have a dollar to go forward, you know. But at the end of day, I just don't want the people abusing it either, if that makes sense.
I think personally right now, I don't think we need more money for the people that I see. But I don't see the whole world. I don't know everything. You know, there's areas that might still need help."
On politics
"You know what, I have a lot of respect for any politician out there. A lot of those people, if they're doing what's best for the country, they've got a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. And I try to respect all of them in a positive way.
I'd say I'm more of the middle of the road conservative. I open my eyes to anybody, I'll listen to anybody. Like, have respect for people. Okay, you disagree or you have a different thought, that’s okay. That’s not a bad thing. I can still agree to disagree with you and have a positive conversation. I want to learn from you and I hope you learn from me.
I see some people on the crazy conservative I’m like, 'what is wrong with your head?' Then I see people on the crazy liberal side and I just think they're both crazy. Personally, I think... Come on. [There's] got to be an in-between here."
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