Republicans turn America’s love of meat into bizarre midterm election battleground

Amid ongoing debates over inflation and conflict in Iran, an unexpected culinary battle line has been drawn in the midterm elections, turning dietary habits into a political testing ground. Candidates across the country are increasingly using meat consumption to signal their cultural and economic credentials.The latest dispute flared up in Mississippi, where Democratic Senate candidate Scott Colom released a campaign advertisement highlighting a broadcast clip of Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. Responding to voters concerned about soaring beef prices, Hyde-Smith noted that "you know you have so many proteins to choose from."The video cuts directly to a man at a backyard grill who responds: "Pick another protein? I'd rather pick another senator instead."As Democrats and Republicans argue over high prices and the Iran war, they're also having a food fight over who's the most red-blooded carnivore (M&S)The Mississippi contest is unusual in that a Democrat is using beef prices to attack a Republican. Across much of the rest of the country, Republicans have taken the offensive, labeling Democratic rivals as vegans or opponents of meat production in an effort to present them as culturally out of step, hostile to local farming interests, or lacking traditional masculinity.In Texas, Republicans highlighted a past interview in which Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico described his campaign going vegan during a previous run for the statehouse. Talarico has since made a point of publicly consuming local barbecue to counter claims that his personal diet makes him unsuited to represent the state.In Colorado, Republican attacks have targeted Democratic congressional candidate Manny Rutinel over his past involvement in animal welfare activism. In Texas, Republicans highlighted a past interview in which Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico described his campaign going vegan during a previous run for the statehouse (AFP/Getty)While in college, Rutinel posed shirtless with a banner supporting People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. In 2021, he founded Climate Refarm, an organization focused on reducing meat consumption that signed onto letters calling for higher taxes on meat and dairy products. He also backed a failed 2024 ballot initiative intended to ban a Denver lamb slaughterhouse.Rutinel, 31, is challenging Republican Rep. Gabe Evans in Colorado's 8th congressional district, an area containing extensive ranchland, dairy operations, and major meat processing plants, including the headquarters of beef giant JBS Swift. GOP opponents have repeatedly criticized Rutinel over his plant-based stance, leading conservative media outlet Daily Wire to release undercover footage of a campaign staffer claiming Rutinel eats meat "as little as possible."Rutinel has sought to dismiss the issue, frequently eating steak tacos while campaigning. "I don't think Coloradans care about what's on my plate, I think they care more about what's on theirs," Rutinel stated following a recent campaign event.Democrats have also seized on meat, though primarily as an example of household essentials growing more expensive under Trump (Getty)Evans maintained that the controversy involves policy rather than personal choice. "I don't care what he eats personally," Evans said during an interview. "I care that he wants to use the power of the government to make everyone eat that way."Republicans have leveled similar criticisms against Democratic House candidates in other states. In Iowa's 2nd district, a region dominated by swine farming, Lindsay James faced scrutiny for supporting "meatless May" in a 2020 Facebook post. In Arizona's 1st district, Democratic candidate Amish Shah has been targeted over his long-standing vegetarianism and animal rights advocacy.Elsewhere in Iowa, Republican Senate candidate and current Rep. Ashley Hinson criticized her Democratic opponent, state lawmaker Josh Turek, for opposing legislation to ban the sale of lab-grown meat in the state. "He’d rather have meat that comes from a lab than from our family farms," she told supporters at a campaign stop.Democrats have also seized on meat, though primarily as an example of household essentials growing more expensive under Trump. To curb rising costs, Trump tried to lower market prices by expanding beef imports from foreign suppliers, particularly Argentina, whose government is led by a close ally.However, those imports sparked backlash from domestic cattle producers while doing little to lower consumer prices, creating potential political vulnerabilities in agricultural states. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the average price of ground beef reached $6.79 per pound last month, up from $5.55 in January 2025, when Trump returned to office.This economic context framed Hyde-Smith's original comments, a cattle rancher and former state agriculture commissioner. Colom, the local prosecutor who delivers the final line in his campaign spot, faces a difficult race in Mississippi.Responding to the advertisement, Hyde-Smith's campaign attributed the rising cost of living to Democratic policies. "It is Scott Colom who supports Biden-era policies that drove up inflation," said spokesman Nathan Calvert.