In far West Texas, what's on voters' minds ahead of the election?
MARFA - With Election Day less than a month away, candidates up and down the ballot are making their final push to reach voters. CBS News Texas has been following the polls and covering political events all year long.
But ultimately, it's the people who matter and who will decide what happens. In an effort to get a better understanding of what voters across the Lone Star State will be thinking about as they cast their ballots, reporter Jason Allen and a CBS News Texas crew are spending the next few weeks traveling across the state, speaking to people from the Chihuahuan Desert to the Pineywoods.
First, we hear from West Texans at Viva Big Bend.
Welcome to "mythic Texas"
In late July our crew drove nearly 500 miles west to the annual Viva Big Bend music festival in the high desert. We spoke with West Texans in Marfa and Alpine, catching them between sets held at venues that ranged from music venues to restaurants and beer gardens, to a farm store.
"This is the mythic Texas," one man told CBS Texas at a Planet Marfa show. "This is the Texas that somebody from the Czech Republic has seen a million movies about the wild west, this is the Texas they think exists."
Like the state as a whole, the West Texas region is vast and diverse. In recent years Marfa has become a tourist destination — famous for its minimalist art. But cities like Marfa and Alpine are stark shifts from energy giants Midland and Odessa, just a few hours away.
"We love our environment and look around, it's beautiful," said Robert Halpern, Marfa resident and former publisher of The Big Bend Sentinel and Presidio International. "But the trade-off is we don't have a tax base. There's no industry."
Halpern said jobs and the economy are big issues, but they may not lead to the same level of political fighting you find in other places.
"Political divide does not destroy friendships out here," said one Viva Big Bend attendee. "Because you need your neighbor. Like, your neighbors might be the only people who could rescue your ass."
Maybe that's why few West Texans we spoke with wanted to talk specifically about political leanings.
One woman, who said she likes to stay politically neutral, did have an idea for how to pick presidential candidates in the future, though.
"Over here at our Dollar General, if you want to apply for a job, there's this pretty extensive application process, like you've got to get a background check, you've got to get a drug test, you've got to get a psych exam, interview, checking references," she said. "So, I'm wondering why there's not a job description for the President of the United States when that person represents us to the entire world and why there's not a pre-application process governed by the people before they can even become a candidate."
This story is one of several CBS News Texas is releasing in the weeks leading up the the election, trying to find the Texas State of Mind. Below is a map of other locations we'll be traveling to.
We asked every person we met on the road for their essential road trip song. Below is the playlist we put together of those recommendations.