'Flashing-red warning lights' for Virginia Republicans as Trump policies threaten farmers

Farmers in different parts of the country are warning that President Donald Trump's steep new tariffs will hurt them in different ways. Products they need to purchase from Canada, for example, will cost them more — and exporting their own products to other countries will become more difficult as well.

In an article published by the Richmond Times-Dispatch on May 2, reporter David J. Toscano describes the hardships that soybean farmers in Virginia are expecting because of Trump's tariffs.

According to Toscano, "new flashing-red warning lights" for GOP candidates in Virginia "have emerged in recent weeks" and "are summarized in one word: soybeans."

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"These 'nuggets of gold' grow almost everywhere," Toscano explains. "While soybean production is typically associated with midwestern states like Illinois and Iowa, it consistently is Virginia's top agricultural and forestry export. And these beans are now in the middle of a Trump-initiated trade war with China."

Toscano continues, "Virginia's chief export partner for agricultural goods, including soybeans, is China, partly due to the nonpartisan cultivation of the market by former Govs. Bob McDonnell and Terry McAuliffe, both of whom led multiple high-level, nonpartisan trade missions to the world's most populous nation. By contrast, while (Gov. Glenn) Youngkin may have visited the country during his time with the Carlyle Group and his embrace of free trade, he has shown little interest in expanding this market for Virginia farmers, traveling to Korea and Japan but studiously avoiding engagement with China, except to nix that nation's possible joint venture with Ford to build a battery plant in Virginia in 2023."

Virginia is arguably Democrats' best state in the South. Virginia has two Democratic U.S. senators (Mark Warner and Tim Kaine), and the last Republican to carry Virginia in a presidential race was Republican George W. Bush in 2004.

Republican Youngkin pulled off a single-digit victory in 2021, but he cannot seek reelection this year. Under Virginia law, governors can serve two terms, but not consecutively. Supporters of former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Virginia) believe the ex-CIA agent could be quite competitive in Virginia's 2025 Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

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For soybean farmers in Virginia, Toscano stresses, the "Chinese market is hard to replace."

"Unless our farmers are 'bought off' with direct transfers from the federal government like 2018," Toscano explains, "some voters in these communities may decide that these Republican policies don't work for them. They could either vote for Democrats, or just stay home. And it doesn’t take much to make the difference in a statewide election."

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David J. Toscano's full Virginia Times-Dispatch op-ed is available at this link.