CAPE GIRARDEAU, Missouri — Stephen N. Limbaugh Sr. grew up here and became a successful lawyer. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan appointed him a federal judge. Today, at age 96, he still wears a white shirt and tie to work at the law firm where his career began.

From the window of his fourth-floor office there is a wide view of the city behind him that represents his family name.

On top of a shelf, his nephew Rush forever looks down from a picture frame containing a February 2020 photo of the famous radio talk show host just moments after President Donald Trump awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In fact, Limbaugh Sr. is interested in politics, and not just in terms of the conservative agitation for which his nephew was known nationwide.

“How can you have an opinion if you don’t see what the other side is doing,” he said.

Last week, he tuned in to watch the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Liberals at home and abroad hailed the event as just the launch pad Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz needed to beat Trump and JD Vance in the presidential race.

Some said Democrats had regained their patriotism over several nights of powerful speeches, culminating with Harris. Others said Democrats would be more appealing to mainstream voters this time around, including those who like “law and order.”

Harris, a former prosecutor, attorney general and U.S. senator from California, vowed in her speech that as president she would maintain “the world’s deadliest military force,” cut taxes for the middle class, seek a reasonable solution in Israel and Gaza and reclaim abortion rights for women.

Walz, the governor of Minnesota, praised Harris’ achievements, calling him a sensible gun expert, a former teacher and trainer who had served in the military and in Congress. Longtime political observers described him as someone who had stepped straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting.

Limbaugh likes Rockwell, who, like his nephew, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He owns a book of his paintings. His favorite is “Saying Grace,” which shows a young boy and his grandmother praying over a meal in a busy restaurant. Two men, one with a cigarette in the corner of his mouth, watch curiously from the same narrow table.

“He was able to portray the true character of people,” Limbaugh said.

Limbaugh also likes Walz. Except for one crucial detail.

“He has steered Minnesota to the left, so I don’t trust him on that,” he said.

That respect is very important here in southeast Missouri, one of the most Republican regions in a Republican state. While Democrats are expected to lose Missouri in November, voters here shed light on some of the opposing viewpoints Harris and Walz are likely to face in the key swing states that will be the focus of their short campaign.

Limbaugh and others recently interviewed were unmoved by the new rumors coming out of the Democratic Party. Many seem to believe that the Democratic Party no longer stands up for working families.

One mechanic compared Harris’ abrupt replacement of President Joe Biden at the top of the ballot box to a coup.

A black factory worker said race and gender would not play a role in her vote. Nor would the promise of an increased child tax credit promoted by Harris’ campaign team. Some see the proposal as just another way for the government to encourage people to be lazy.

Almost everyone said Harris has left no mark in her three and a half years as the military’s second in command. They don’t trust her.

“Where is she and what has she done?” asked Barbara Satterlee, 56, a former truck driver with cancer who lives in a house in a rice field. “That’s why I’m on Trump’s side. What you see is what you get.”

Kim Hellyer, 54, of Indianapolis, said during a stop at a downtown restaurant that she has abandoned her support for Democrats.

“The party is too focused on inclusivity and too concerned about everyone’s feelings – blah, blah, blah – when I feel like there are more pressing issues. Our economy. The cost of food,” she said. “I went to get some pot roast beef. It was like $40.”

Meanwhile, she said, Harris has “not answered difficult questions” and “people don’t know her policies.”

“I like Trump’s policies,” she said. “Yes, he is a narcissist and should keep his mouth shut, but his policies are sensible.”

Chris Lix, 60, a construction contractor, said he was also raised as a Democrat. Now, he said, he is “100% capitalist.” He said he would vote Republican in the presidential election because they are “like, less liberal. They’re less crazy.”

He said he tried to watch the Democratic National Convention and couldn’t stand it. He said Harris was “just lying to get into office” and Walz was a “radical left-wing radical” who “abandoned” his men in the Army National Guard when they needed him most — when they went to war in Iraq.

Lix, wearing a bright red, white and blue “TRUMP” hat, said people came up to him in the aisle of the tractor supply store to shake his hand and thank him for his shown loyalty.

In the Dollar Tree parking lot, 43-year-old Latonya Jackson says she saves her money and doesn’t expect the government to help her in any way. She earns $23.65 an hour in a factory and often works more than 40 hours a week. She says she used to vote for Barack Obama and Trump. The fact that Trump has a criminal record doesn’t bother her.

“People can relate to him better because of his story,” she said. “You have to go through something to know something.”

She said that although she is a black woman, that alone is not enough to vote for Harris. She has not yet made up her mind.

“It’s not about color. I have a mixed race grandson,” she said. “It’s about who does it better.”

And then there are others who don’t vote at all.

Anniyah Allure, 25, looked out over the Mississippi River, which flows through the historic downtown area. She, too, is skeptical of political leaders and does not follow election campaigns.

“Everyone will do what they will do, no matter what they say,” she said. “I don’t trust people.”

She was pleased at the idea that Harris would become the first black president.

“I think it’s great for them. I think it’s great for us,” Allure said. “But I’m still not voting.”

The victory of either party cannot come from the fringe groups, said Limbaugh. Victory will come from the core group of voters.

Think of watermelons, which grow in abundance in southeast Missouri. Limbaugh said it’s the sweet red core that the tasty fruit is known for, not the white part closest to the rind.

He said that although the presidential election would not take place in Missouri, it was “obvious.”

“Both parties can rely on their core voters to win them over,” he said. “It depends on whether they can mobilize them all.”