Not far from downtown Traverse City, Carlton Ketchum stands on the side of the road wearing a sweatshirt featuring the American flag and a bald eagle. His signs depict President Donald Trump alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Beneath the caricatures is a question: "Who's a commie?"
Ketchum is among a small group of protesters opposing the Trump administration. Passing drivers occasionally honk in support or disapproval. One driver rolls down his window and shouts, "Get a life."
"This is my life," Ketchum shouts back.
The exchange reflects the political divisions in Grand Traverse County, where Trump won by just 1,084 votes in 2024.
Now, as Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers compete for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat, voters are weighing sharply different views about the Trump administration, the economy and the direction of the country.
For Ketchum, the election is about opposing Trump's policies. Across town, local Republican leaders see the race differently, emphasizing concerns about honesty, government intervention and policies they describe as socialist.
“The Republican Party is in lockstep with Trump,” said Ketchum. “The man poisoned the well.”
Ketchum volunteers with Traverse Indivisible, a local group affiliated with the national Indivisible movement. The organization describes itself as a grassroots coalition working to build community, preserve democracy and promote accountable government.
“There’s a lot of anger with the Trump administration on many levels, whether it's I.C.E., whether it’s his effect on farmers, tariffs, you pick the issue,” said Ketchum. “I think there’s going to be a big turnout for Abdul.”
Leif Kolt, an organizer for Traverse Indivisible, believes that El-Sayed better represents what he sees as the promise of the American dream, while Rogers would largely follow the direction of the Trump administration.
“Mike Rogers will basically rubber stamp only the things that Donald Trump tells him to, and that is just not the way America was supposed to run,” said Kolt.
Across town, Larry Galehouse sits inside the Grand Traverse Republican Party's office in a shopping center. Campaign signs and posters cover much of the storefront's windows.
“I think honesty is a big issue, we cannot just say anything to get elected, and that’s what we find the Democratic candidate doing; he’s saying anything just to get elected,” said Galehouse, a former Michigan State University faculty member and chair of the Grand Traverse County Republican Party.
For Galehouse, the Senate race is about more than individual candidates. He sees it as a debate over the direction of the country and the role of government.
El-Sayed has proposed a number of progressive policies, including abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and changing how wealthy Americans are taxed. Rogers and his campaign have criticized those proposals, characterizing El-Sayed's political agenda as socialist.
“Socialism, we look at it as a cancer,” said Galehouse. “A little bit is not good, no matter where it lands on your body. The same way with socialism, a little bit is not good, no matter where it lands within our government.”
The two perspectives illustrate how differently local political activists are approaching the same election in a closely divided county.
Despite their political differences, housing affordability is a concern raised by residents and political leaders in Grand Traverse County.
The county's growing popularity has brought new residents and increased demand for homes, making affordability a significant local issue.
“We have an awful lot of people up in this area, and a lot of service industry, and we need low-cost housing for people,” said Galehouse. “Actually, Grand Traverse area is 35 percent higher than most areas in the state when it comes to housing.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Grand Traverse County's population grew by more than 8,000 people between 2010 and 2020.
Home prices have also climbed. According to Redfin, the median home sale price was approximately $464,000 for the three months ending in September 2026, an increase of nearly 11% from the same period a year earlier.
Wayne Schmidt, the former state senator for Grand Traverse County, acknowledges that housing is one of the area's biggest challenges, but says there are limits to what government can do to influence the market.
“Some of that, no matter what we do, can’t be changed,” said Schmidt. “This is a very popular place to move to.”
Housing has also become an issue in the Senate race, with both candidates proposing different approaches to making homes more affordable.
Rogers has proposed reducing housing regulations, expanding tax-advantaged savings options for first-time homebuyers and encouraging new construction. El-Sayed has called for increasing housing construction and limiting speculation in the housing market.
Both candidates have identified housing affordability as a concern, but differ on the solutions.
Grand Traverse County's growth is also helping distinguish it from other communities with similar characteristics across the country.
The American Communities Project classifies Grand Traverse County as Rural Middle America, a category of smaller communities and rural counties spread across much of the country.
These counties generally have lower household incomes and fewer college graduates than the nation as a whole.
Grand Traverse County, however, stands apart. Its income and educational attainment figures are above national norms, reflecting a community whose economic characteristics differ from many others in the same category.
The differences are also visible in election results.
In the 2012 presidential race, Republican Mitt Romney won Grand Traverse County by about 12 percentage points. Across Rural Middle America counties nationwide, Romney won by approximately 18 points.
By 2024, the difference was much more pronounced.
Trump carried Grand Traverse County by just 1,084 votes, or about 1.7 percentage points. Across Rural Middle America counties nationally, he won by approximately 27 percentage points, according to the American Communities Project figures used in this series.
In the 2024 race for U.S. Senate, Republican Mike Rogers also narrowly carried Grand Traverse County, by about 2.3 percentage points, even as Democrat Elissa Slotkin won statewide.
Those results illustrate how Grand Traverse County's voting patterns have diverged from many other rural communities across the country.
The question heading into November is whether those political differences will continue in the Senate race between Rogers and El-Sayed.
The county's recent election results show a closely divided electorate, even as Republican candidates continue to win locally.
For residents, however, the issues extend beyond political labels. Housing, health care and everyday expenses are also shaping the conversation.
“What I appreciate about Abdul is his focus on the kitchen table issues,” said Kolt. “Our groceries are more expensive, my kids have less of a chance of a bright and prosperous future, if I get injured, I could go into medical debt.”
Galehouse, meanwhile, sees the election as a choice about political ideology and the direction of government. His concerns about socialism reflect the divisions that have made the Senate race contentious.
Grand Traverse County remains Republican-leaning, but its recent election margins are far narrower than those in many communities that share its Rural Middle America classification.
With the Nov. 3 election approaching, the contest between Rogers and El-Sayed will offer another look at how changing demographics, political priorities and concerns about affordability are reflected at the ballot box.
