“I don’t drive, I take the bus to get anywhere because I can’t afford to have a vehicle.”In Dundalk, Maryland, everyday costs — and who voters hold responsible for them — are shaping the run-up to November’s midterm election as surely as the familiar flashpoints of crime, immigration and gasoline prices.
“It’s crazy out here. Inflation on grocery prices is crazy, you get like five, six items, it’s almost $300. You can’t survive out here,” said local man TJ.
That frustration quickly turns to the question animating many kitchen-table conversations: who is to blame for the squeeze?
TJ pointed to gas companies and former US president Joe Biden, while also acknowledging the war in Iran has taken a toll on household budgets.
“I mean, if Trump was able to run again, I’d vote for him. I like the way he does stuff. I’d rather have a businessman than a politician in office. You know, you get the truth from a businessman more than you would a politician,” he said.
TJ said he likes the way Donald Trump ‘does stuff’ and would vote for him again
Dundalk, a Republican-leaning community inside a largely Democratic state, has been a reliable pocket of support for President Donald Trump, who won here in all three presidential elections.
After speaking with residents in the town — named after the Co Louth town in the late 1800s — it is clear some Republicans remain comfortable with the party’s trajectory, even as the GOP is widely expected to take losses nationwide this year.
Mike, an Italian-American who emigrated from Sicily more than seven decades ago and has lived in Dundalk for over 35 years, said he is heading to the polls with religion and the economy on his mind, and with a particular worry about the country moving toward socialism.
“This country was founded on Christianity and capitalism. I think it should stay that way,” he said.
The community sits alongside the former Sparrows Point steel site, once a towering emblem of US industrial power.
After the steel mill shut more than a decade ago, the area was remade into a logistics and manufacturing hub.
Reviving manufacturing in places like Dundalk has been a cornerstone of President Trump’s economic message during his term — part of the reason he brought his midterm campaign tour to Maryland this week.
Dundalk is a Republican-leaning town in a mostly Democratic state
On his visit last night to Sparrows Point, he showcased a $3.7 billion investment by military technology company Anduril, which plans to build components for nuclear-powered submarines at a Baltimore-area shipyard.
“A tremendous victory for our country and for the city of Baltimore. This massive project will create over 3,100 new jobs right here in Maryland and will support an additional 11,000 jobs across the nation,” Mr Trump said.
The president’s October blitz spans 32 days and includes stops in Oklahoma, Alabama, Ohio, Texas and Nebraska, aimed at lifting Republican prospects ahead of Election Day.
Democrats are favoured to retake the House, though by what is expected to be a relatively narrow margin. They are also seen as having a path to the Senate.
Yet in Dundalk, some long-time Republican voters say their support for Mr Trump remains intact after a decade, even as his national approval has fallen to a record low.
Surveys put President Trump’s overall approval at 32%, while his approval among Republicans stood at 73% in a September poll.
Tim said the Democratic Party had let down blue collar workers
Tim, who works in Dundalk, counts himself firmly in that camp.
“The Democratic Party, I think, has let down the blue collar worker,” he told RTÉ News over breakfast at the Boulevard Diner, a local restaurant.
“I think Mr Trump is trying to bring manufacturing back into this country. The America First plan, let’s put it that way… worry about ourselves,” he added.
How are voters in Maryland feeling about the GOP’s first two years in power?
