Back in May, we highlighted Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s outreach efforts with the Amish in several key battleground states.
Now, it would seem, he’s beginning to see some very serious results. Conservative Tribune is reporting that Amish supporters have sprung up all over Pennsylvania, suggesting that perhaps they could swing the state in the GOP candidate’s direction come Nov. 8.
The Republican Party has been reaching out to the Amish for a number of election cycles, but saw their first real positive gains in 2012. With religious liberty—and a candidate who has made a vow to protect it for Christians a central theme of his campaign—it appears it may be paying off much more this year.
There are about 70,000 potential Amish voters each in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The margin of victory for President Obama in those states was 166,000 and 310,000, respectively, in the 2012 election. So while the “Amish vote” can’t necessarily swing either state on its own, it could be an indicator of a larger movement.
As the CT report notes, more Amish showed up to a Lancaster County, Pa., event with Donald Trump than total people who showed up for a Hillary Clinton event to kick off early voting in Iowa’s state capital, Des Moines.
