Where’s the beef? As prices soar, midterm candidates trade barbs over meat

As meat prices skyrocket during the midterm elections, politicians on both sides are trading barbs over who is the most "red-blooded carnivore." In Mississippi, Democratic Senate candidate Scott Colom released a video featuring Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith saying, "You know you have so many proteins to choose from," when asked about consumers being upset over high beef prices. The video then cuts to a man grilling burgers, who quips, "Pick another protein? I'd rather pick another senator instead."

This race is somewhat unique because it's the Democrat criticizing the Republican over beef prices. Elsewhere, Republicans have accused Democrats of being vegan or otherwise opposed to meat, suggesting they're culturally out of step with voters and hostile to local cattle industries or just not manly enough.

In Texas, Republicans seized on an old interview where Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico claimed his campaign for the Texas statehouse would be vegan. Talarico has since been seen eating barbecue to refute claims that his dietary choices make him not a "real Texan."

In Colorado, Republicans have targeted Democratic congressional candidate Manny Rutinel for his activism against meat production and factory farming. Rutinel, who founded a climate advocacy group and signed onto letters advocating for tax hikes on meat and dairy, has publicly eaten steak tacos on the campaign trail, scoffing at allegations that he eats meat "as little as possible."

Republicans have also attacked Democrats in Iowa, hammering Lindsay James for supporting "meatless May" and Amish Shah for his vegetarianism and animal rights activism. In Iowa's Senate race, Republican candidate Ashley Hinson criticized her opponent, state lawmaker Josh Turek, for opposing a bill that would ban lab-grown meat in the state, saying, "He'd rather have meat that comes from a lab than from our family farms."

Democrats have also targeted meat prices, but mainly as one of the many factors contributing to higher costs for voters. Under Trump, he attempted to lower prices by opening U.S. markets to beef imports, particularly from Argentina, which is a close Trump ally. However, those efforts have angered U.S. producers and prices remain high, potentially providing Democrats with a vulnerability in Republican-leaning states where they hope to make gains this year.