Will trade war tip elections in the Central Valley?

Frustrated farmers could be the key

Nervous walnut farmers watch the price of their crops drop by the day. Dairymen worry about delayed shipments as tariffs mount. Orange sellers fret about their fruit spoiling while it waits for inspections at Chinese ports.

As harvest season fast approaches in the Central Valley, farmers are feeling the pinch from President Trump’s trade war – injecting a new issue into crucial congressional races up and down the region and stoking fears among Republicans that it could hurt them in November.

Trump has levied tariffs on a host of products from around the world, and countries like China, India, Mexico and Canada have responded by targeting U.S. farmers, slapping their own taxes on imports from America’s breadbasket. That makes U.S. crops more expensive overseas, reducing demand and cutting into farmers’ bottom lines.

California is in the crosshairs: In 2016, the Golden State exported just over $2 billion in agricultural products to China, with the largest exports being pistachios, almonds, wine, oranges and dairy, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. All of those crops have a large presence in the Valley.

Some farmers are fuming as agriculture markets are shaken by the disputes.

“This seems to be a game of ‘I dare you’ from the White House, without a strategic plan,” said Mark Mcafee, a dairy farmer in Fresno, registered Democrat and Cali-