Conservatives are making a play for the Amish vote in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state both former President Donald Trump and VP Kamala Harris are desperately trying to capture.
Amish Americans generally stay out of mainstream politics despite recent efforts from Republicans, who see the conservative and religious residents as allies and an untapped voting bloc. When Amish people do vote, they overwhelmingly register as Republicans.
“I want you to know, we are courting the Amish vote,” conservative activist Scott Presler said at a political conference. “The Amish, if they are mobilized, could literally save Western civilization.”
Presler is leading this stronger, renewed effort to capture the Amish vote this election cycle — especially in Pennsylvania, where 87,000 Amish reside. He says the Amish people he’s spoken to are receptive to mail-in ballots.
“When I go to the Amish and I tell them that they can have a private secret ballot that is sent to their homes, and they don’t have to drive their buggy to town and go to a polling location and have that stigma from their community: they love the idea of mail-in ballots,” Presler said. “And how epic would it be if a tool of the Democrats was used in order to get out the Amish vote and win and elect Donald J. Trump?”
It’s not just the relatively new draw of mail-in ballots. Conservatives say the Amish are under threat from big government policies in PA, specifically when it comes to farming. Earlier this year, an Amish farmer named Amos Miller in Lancaster County had his farm raided by the state and was banned from selling raw milk products. Pennsylvania outright bans the sale of some raw milk products, like butter and yogurt, and mandates permits for others. The high-profile case that got the attention and support of both Donald Trump Jr. and RFK Jr., who is now a surrogate for Trump.
President Trump,
I don’t know if you’ll see this, but I spoke to an Amish man last night that really wants you to come to Lancaster, PA.
He said more Amish people would be able to attend to your rally if it’s on a Saturday.
He also suggested to advertise in the local… pic.twitter.com/OxEjIrnTZB
— ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) September 21, 2024
There are nearly 400,000 Amish nationwide, predominantly residing in rural areas in Ohio, Indiana, and, of course, Pennsylvania. The state’s Lancaster County holds the largest Amish community in the U.S. with about 44,000 Amish residents.
In 2016, there were about 15,000 eligible Amish voters in Lancaster County, but only about 1,000 of them voted in the presidential election. By 2020, though, that number tripled, to about 3,000 votes. A significant increase, likely due to some GOP efforts, but still a relatively low voter turnout.
Presler, leading a PAC called Early Vote Action, is trying to change that. He and his team have been in the battleground state since last week, and plan to stay there and register voters for a total of 40 days.
For the next 40+ days, I am not leaving Pennsylvania.
I even purchased property in Pennsylvania just to vote for Donald Trump.
We have 40+ paid staff on the ground & ALL of our resources are going to PA.
This is it — the final battle.
We’re all in.
— ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) September 20, 2024
Presler is a highly effective grassroots activist. He’s not working directly for the Republican National Committee (RNC), since he has his own PAC now, but RNC co-Chair Lara Trump has praised Presler and said he’s registered more voters than anyone else she knows of. Presler also has support from Donald Trump Jr., who spoke to Presler earlier this year and advocated for efforts to register the Amish to vote.
While Presler and his team still have weeks left in PA, the activist says their efforts in Pennsylvania more broadly have already helped to flip Luzerne County Red, with respect to voter registration. There are now 87,415 registered Republican voters, which is a razor thin 83-person lead over Democrats. Luzerne County was considered a Democrat stronghold.
WE DID IT!
IT IS DONE!
We flipped Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, from 🔵🔜🔴.
This is monumental, earth-shattering, ground shaking news.
Thank you to EVERY single volunteer that contributed to this victory!
— ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) September 23, 2024
Currently, statewide, Democrats are holding the slimmest lead in voter registration over Republicans in decades.
