In East Texas, what's on voters' minds ahead of the election?
With Election Day approaching, 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 in a quest to find the Texas State of Mind.
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 weeks leading up to the election traveling across the state, speaking to people from the Chihuahuan Desert to the Pineywoods.
Jason's next stop: the Pineywoods of East Texas.
NACOGDOCHES – In the heart of East Texas, nestled between three national forests, away from the dry landscape and traffic jams Texas has grown to be synonymous with, sits Nacogdoches. And while the American mantra may have been "Go West, young man," those we spoke with on a recent trip to Nacogdoches told us everything they could want is here in the East.
"Your blood pressure drops when you come to a place like this," one man told Jason Allen on his recent stop at the Nacogdoches Pineywoods Fair.
People we spoke with named the trees, the lakes and lack of traffic for reasons they love the place they've made home. But like everywhere else we've been, most could name at least a few things things they'd like to see changed.
"I wish we had an HEB," said one man.
Another said he had to work two jobs to get by. One woman said she lived with two roommates to make rent. Another told us she's currently worried about her school-aged son.
"We did switch to home school this past year," she said. "Even in the rural areas there's some things you don't want them exposed to."
When it comes to the upcoming election, there was some uncertainty about what impact it will make in day-to-day life.
"One person can't control it," said one woman. "You just say your prayers, cast your vote and take care of yours."
This story is one of several CBS News Texas is releasing in the weeks leading up to the election, trying to find the Texas State of Mind. 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.