Requiem for a Red State Road Trip
Reflections on two-week reporting odyssey through under-covered swath of US, a month before presidential election.
Immigrants thrive in US country music capital
Foreign-born residents in Nashville, Tennessee, lean to the Democrats in a state often dominated by Republicans.
Southerners on race and the White House
Generational gap afflicts black voters in Memphis, city of Civil Rights turmoil, King's assassination and blues music.
In America it's still 'the economy, stupid'
Arkansas voters say jobs, taxes and investment drive their political decisions and the whole country's economic future.
Arkansas voters 'praying for' US president
After Bible study and prayer session, evangelical Christians in Siloam Springs reveal heavy mix of God and politics.
Energy interests square off over US heartland
With plentiful natural gas and cheap electric rates during election year, Oklahoma renewables struggle for traction.
In Pictures: Oklahoma City bombing memorial
Visitors at site of 1995 tragedy talk about "terrorism" and how they feel toward the candidates in November's election.
US politics 'off the reservation' in Oklahoma
Signs of the 2012 presidential race are rare along interstates dotted with pit stops, Indian casinos and tribal lands.
'I’m Muslim: Ask me a question'
Interfaith groups fight intolerance off the national political radar in "blue dot within the sea of red Kansas".
What's the matter with undecided Kansans?
A vocal minority in overwhelmingly Republican state remain undecided after first presidential debate.
Across the heartland

Al Jazeera online producer Ben Piven covers key US political issues of the 2012 presidential election from middle America beyond the campaign trail's battlegrounds. He reports on voters in four states so Republican-leaning that neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney invests much electoral capital. Zoom into the map at left to click on tweets and photos.
Nashville political signs

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