Democrats once dominated elections for state agriculture commissioners; now all are Republicans. What changed?

Twelve states elect their agricultural commissioners.
(Photo by Jon Cherry, The New York Times)

Voters in the 12 states that elect agriculture commissioners might not know the name of their chosen candidate, but many can tell you the party -- Republican. But Republican dominance in this crucial, albeit "under-the-radar" position wasn't always the case, "Twenty years ago, Democrats held most of those seats; now, Republicans occupy all 12, even in states where Democrats have prevailed in other statewide contests," reports David W. Chen of The New York Times. "A total of 12 states in the South and Midwest elect their agriculture commissioners, who wield enormous clout on everything from regulating pesticides to containing animal disease outbreaks." In this election cycle, Democrats are hoping to win Kentucky's posting.

The shift to Republican commissioners began as Democrats lost sway with Southern state voters, and candidates in red states gained momentum using the party's familiar "core message about free markets and government overreach to contests that in the past may not have been partisan political battlegrounds," Chen explains. "In Florida, Nikki Fried's background as a lobbyist for an agricultural industry that has become increasingly prominent around the country — cannabis — helped her become the most recent Democrat anywhere to win an agriculture race, by a razor-thin margin, in 2018. She said her party had overemphasized an urban agenda and failed to do enough retail politicking beyond blue areas." Fried lost in 2022 to Republican Wilton Simpson, who gained 59 percent of the vote.

The positions reach far beyond farming.
(Photo by Jon Cherry, The New York Times)

While each state commissioner's duties differ, they all reach beyond farming. "In Florida, the agriculture commissioner, one of four elected Cabinet members, runs the state's concealed weapons program, manages its forest lands, fights wildfires and tackles consumer complaints," Chen reports. "In Texas, the agriculture department runs school nutrition programs and licenses the hemp industry. In North Dakota, the commissioner is a member, along with the governor and the attorney general, of the state's powerful Industrial Commission, which oversees oil permits, the Bank of North Dakota, and housing finance."

In Kentucky, the "state agriculture department employs roughly 220 people and commands an $80 million annual budget, making it the second biggest office in the state's executive branch, behind only the governor's office," Chen reports. The upcoming agricultural commissioner position is a contest "between Jonathan Shell, a former Republican state legislator, and Sierra Enlow, a Democratic economic development consultant. . . . No Democrat has served as the state's agriculture commissioner since 2003. . . . In interviews with rural voters around the state, many said they had not heard of either candidate."