Is Folsom actually 'Trump Country'? Election data says otherwise

Nicole Nixon, The Sacramento Bee on Apr 16, 2025

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As progressive leaders Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., rallied supporters in Folsom on Tuesday evening, a small airplane circled above trailing a banner that read “Folsom is Trump Country!”

In an Instagram post later that evening, Sanders said the city of nearly 85,000 is “in a Republican county.”

Neither are true. Folsom sits at the eastern edge of Sacramento County, which hasn’t supported a Republican presidential candidate since 2004.

And election data shows Folsom actually leans blue when it comes to presidential candidates.

The suburb is characterized by its neighborhoods of neat, single-family homes, large shopping centers, and low crime rate. The family-friendly city, sometimes called “wholesome Folsom” by its residents, is often looped in with neighboring — and more conservative — foothill cities like Roseville and Rocklin which share many of the same qualities.

In the 2024 election, about 51% of Folsom voters cast a ballot for Democrat Kamala Harris, compared to 45% of voters who cast a ballot for Donald Trump, according to official data from the California Secretary of State.

Citrus Heights was more friendly to Trump. He earned 52% of the city’s vote, compared to 46% for Harris. In Roseville, Trump earned about 50% of the vote, compared to 47% for Harris. Rocklin went 52% for Trump, 45% for Harris. Voters in the small town of Loomis showed the most support for Trump in the four-county Sacramento region: He earned about 65% of Loomis’ vote.

As rallygoers made their way into the event at Folsom Lake College Tuesday, several dozen Trump supporters waved signs and flags in support of the president. Inside the event, many attendees booed or flipped off the plane as it flew overhead with the pro-Trump banner.

Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged the “Trump country” label at the beginning of her speech, saying “it sure don’t look like it today. I don’t think this is Trump country. I think this is our country, because we’re not afraid of them anymore,” to cheers and applause.

About 30,000 people attended the Folsom stop of Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, according to organizers.

Folsom Rep. Kevin Kiley Responds to Sanders, AOC criticism

Both Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez criticized Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Roseville, who represents Folsom and other foothill suburbs, along with a rural stretch of state border running from Lake Tahoe to Death Valley.

The progressive lawmakers knocked the two-term Republican for not holding in-person town halls and for voting in favor of a House budget plan that could slash $880 billion from Medicaid over the next decade.

“Kevin Kiley knows that this is not what you want,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “He knows that it is deeply unpopular. He knows that it hurts the people of Folsom but he is not there to serve working families. He is there to serve himself and the billionaire class that put him there.”

In a statement to The Bee Wednesday, Kiley promised to fight against the progressives’ “radical socialist policies” and contrasted the suburban communities in his district with larger and more liberal cities.

“The radical policies of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez have been tried and failed in places like San Francisco. The result has been soaring crime, homelessness, waste, and economic decline,” Kiley said.

“Our communities have chosen a different way. We support law enforcement. We are not sanctuary cities. We support small businesses and workers,” he continued.

“As a result, we have maintained a quality of life that doesn’t exist in other parts of California. My priority will always be to protect that quality of life. I will fight against the radical socialist policies Bernie and AOC want to inflict on us.”

Kiley, a former state lawmaker who was elected to the 3rd U.S. Congressional District in 2022, has also been targeted by Democrats for his Republican-leaning congressional seat. He beat Democratic challenger Jessica Morse in 2024 with 55% of the vote.

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