Anson County sits east of Charlotte and Union County and is intersected by Highway 74 along the South Carolina border. Like many rural counties across North Carolina, agriculture and manufacturing account for the lion’s share of Anson’s struggling economy. And like those other rural counties, Anson has also undergone a dramatic political realignment in the Obama-Trump era: the county went for Republicans for the first time (we think ever) in 2022, even though Republicans make up just 18% of the county’s registered voters and Democrats make up 55%. Director Steven Spielberg shot the film “The Color Purple” in Anson County 35 years ago. A fun story Jeremy Markovich wrote last year has the history of that film shoot, including the news that Spielberg was named an honorary Anson sheriff’s deputy during the filming and acquired the famous yellow NC Highway Patrol cap that made its way around the world and onto Indiana Jones sets.