On the cover of the Weekend Edition of USA Today, (July 29-31) the Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton appears on the top of the front page. But, if you’d rather read something even more enlightening, at the bottom left of the same page, you’ll find an important statistic: 87 percent of swing state anglers said their vote can be swayed if a candidate vows to protect their right to fish.
That stat came from a recent survey Bassmaster conducted with B.A.S.S. Council members who live in states considered swing states in this presidential election. Check out the September issue of Bassmaster magazine for more details.
That’s an interesting number, but let me breifly put that into perspective on a national level.
-According to a 2011 survey conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, approximately 33.1 million Americans enjoy fishing annually.
-According to a survey conducted in 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that America’s national economy is positively impacted by fishing to the tune of $1.1 billion annually.
(It’s highly likely that both of those numbers have increased substantially since each survey was tallied.)
Those are great numbers and highlight the impact anglers could have in the 2016 Presidential Election.
According to Politico, the 2016 key swing states include: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. Now, that’s not to say anglers nationwide can’t have an impact on this election, because every vote counts. But, if you fish and live in one of those states, your vote could be a part of a large political movement made up of anglers that could determine the next president of our country.
What say you? If one of the candidates were to embrace the fishing community and vow to protect your rights to fish, would that sway your vote?
