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The surge in national attention being paid to genetically modifiied crops in food has helped turn a new bloc of Americans into engaged participants in the political process. David Silverman/Getty Images

A new crop of political candidates who list concerns about GMOs as a major part of their platforms has emerged in congressional, gubernatorial and local elections from Hawaii to Iowa. The surge in national attention being paid to genetically modifiied crops in food has helped turn a new bloc of Americans into engaged participants in the political process, according to the nascent movement’s leading voices.

What is not yet known is whether the passion driving the anti-GMO movement will result in wins at the voting booth or the passage of actual legislation.

Steven Stokes, an independent candidate to replace Democratic incumbent Adam Schiff in California’s 28th District congressional election, has made the GMO issue a central part of his long-shot campaign. A political newbie, Stokes appears on a ballot for the first time in November. The real estate and mortgage broker came in second in the state’s top-two primary in June.

Stokes’s interest in the food supply began when he dated a woman who paid close attention ther diet and was careful to eat organic. He heard about last year’s controversy over the so-called “Monsanto Protection Act” and became involved in the movement, eventually deciding that someone needed to run against Schiff, who voted for the measure. He tried to recruit a number of prominent local figures to throw their hat in the ring but when they all demurred, Stokes decided to join the race himself.

“I am putting it at the forefront; it probably is my biggest issue politically: food safety, GMOs, pesticides in the food supply, and the way it crosses over to the ways corporations are buying influence in our country and buying politicians, and how Monsanto is able to sell these foods without labeling them. I think it is a winning political issue,” he told IBTimes. “I do feel that more people are outraged about Monsanto and GMOs than about issues like security, because people all have to eat.”

Stokes is not alone in his approach.