VANCOUVER — On a Sunday two weeks before Halloween, people flocked from across Southwestern Washington to the pumpkin patch and harvest festival at Bi-Zi Farms, on the outskirts of the biggest city in this largely rural corner of the state.

Bill Zimmerman, the farm’s namesake, considers himself a conservative Democrat. His son Joe Zimmerman, who now runs the operation, said he has always identified as a Republican but has seen the party change dramatically over the past decade or so.

“I feel like my feet are firmly planted on the ground and the ruler is sliding underneath my feet,” Joe Zimmerman said, describing a political shift that has left him feeling “not Republican enough” to fit into today’s GOP.

The Zimmermans are the type of voters who have helped Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez,

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