Sugar beet farmers in a rural Minnesota district that turned out solidly for President Bush in 2000 are having second thoughts about his re-election now that the administration is supporting a trade agreement they see as a threat.

"That is overshadowing everything," said Diane Ista, a community activist and longtime Democrat who grows sugar beets on a farm in Norman County.

That could make the difference in the state Bush lost to Democratic candidate Al Gore (news - web sites) by fewer than 60,000 votes. Winning Minnesota's 10 electoral votes this year depends on turning out the sort of support Bush received in the 7th District, which the Republican carried by nearly 15 percentage points.

Kevin Nelson, a wheat and sugar beet farmer near Glyndon, donated money to the first Bush campaign. Now, the president has "lost all my support," Nelson said.

"I was unsure of him back then, too," Nelson said. "He has never been very strong on agriculture in general."

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This story speaks to a lot of the rural anger that the Bush Administration faces today, despite the fact that the mainstream media has decided to ignore this issue. Many farmers, unhappy with the President's free trade policies, could swing key midwestern farming states plus North Carolina into the Democratic column this year, and thus genuinely effect the election.

I am not certain how this all will play out, but from what we saw in Louisana in December 2002 (when Senator Mary Landrieu [D] used the President's support for Mexican sugar to ensure her reelection), local agricultural issues can trump national themes in key races, and as a result, we could see the President losing key swing states come November even if he appears to be leading in the national polls.