MAGA hats, a rodeo, and carnival games: What we saw at a festival west of Las Vegas

Around 60 miles west of Las Vegas, Pahrump, Nevada’s fall festival and rodeo were in full swing on a recent weekend.

The dry desert heat had broken by sundown. The amusement park rides swung fest-goers around. Families played carnival games — including one basketball challenge that advertised “cheating allowed.” Rodeo fans in the stands donned a mix of ball caps and cowboy hats, sneakers and work shoes and the occasional bedazzled belt buckle.

All around, dust kicked up from the field where the festival was held, and smoke and the aroma of fried foods wafted from vendors’ stands.

A team of Morning Edition journalists visited the festival as part of NPR’s “We, The Voters” series highlighting the states that could determine the 2024 presidential election. We checked out the fair and rodeo to talk to voters about what’s on their minds ahead of the election.

Nye County, where Pahrump sits, is as politically red as the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos dust you can add to the corn on the cob for 50 cents extra. Many of the folks we spoke to say they’ll be casting their ballots for former President Donald Trump.

We saw countless Make America Great Again hats, a tent handing out Trump yard signs — and only one Harris-Walz camo hat.

“I grew up here and I just wanted people to know who I was voting for,” said Mary Beth Powell, who wore the Harris-Walz cap. “And I kind of hope that it empowers some other people to maybe vote that way, too.”

Here’s what else we saw as we listened to voters tell us what matters to them in this election: