With a population of 658,340, East Acadia is a mostly rural province with a large industrial and manufacturing hub of Pindai with a population of 400,000 in its metro area, the rest of the province is rural mountains and rice fields. It is considerably more Ren than its surrounding provinces, with it being 55% Ren or mixed-race Ren. This makes a strong area of Centrist Party support but also Minjian Conservatism. Within this election, Conservatives have increased support among Ren voters, these same voters often voted for the Conservatives before 2000. In no better place can this be seen than in Luwan Township, a suburban area with a high Minjian population. In 2000, Weasley won 62% here, while in 2020, Zhang won 58%. We visited a fry-up at a new temple. The crowd is mostly young families, however, unlike many other areas, they reflect the views of the parents and grandparents. Grace Lim is the wife of an insurance employee. She repeats many Conservative talking points to me. “Crime and the protection of economic freedom are serious issues, and Zhang refuses to stand against Chavez and his socialist agenda”. She voted for Zhang in 2020, but this time she tells me, she is behind Brooke Weasley.
Luwan Township also includes some of Central Pindai, this is a more working-class area of the city. Since 2008, many of the largest fishing companies have left, leaving a shortage of jobs. Many have turned to the New Right, as a populist alternative to other parties. We attended a rally by Humberto Li-Sun, a long-time pastor and preacher. He has been active in politics since the 1971 Constitutional Convention. In 1991, he was elected as a member of the Union Party, a populist and evangelical political party. He ran for President in 2000 as a member of the Union Party, gaining 1.95% of the vote. He then changed his affiliation to Catholic Union Party, until the party was dissolved in 2020, joining the New Right Party. During his speeches, he talks about the power of government charity and the power of human will.