From the White House to the county courthouse, we have you covered on rural politics and policy. Look no further for election analysis and rural voter data, reporting on how policymakers and federal programs are aiming to serve rural communities, or simply the many roles rural people and places play in democracy and civic life.
Abortion Ban Fails in Small Nebraska Town; Others Pass, Some Narrowly
A surprising result for a conservative community shows the potential limits of politicizing reproductive rights.
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Rural and Urban Counties with the Highest Gun Death Rates
Rural counties have higher gun death rates than the rest of the nation, which experts attribute to increased suicide rates.
Republicans Win Wis. Senate Seat with Help from Big-City Suburbs and Rural Voters
Suburban Milwaukee and rural voters were critical parts of Republican Ron Johnson’s win in the Wisconsin Senate contest.
Analysis: Democrats Have Issues that Rural Voters Love. Maybe They Should Talk about Them.
It’s not a foregone conclusion that rural voters pick Republican candidates. But addressing Democrats “rural problem” means they need to show up, pay attention, and talk about working-class issues.
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Everywhere Radio: Rural America and the Midterm Elections
The final outcome of the 2022 midterm election is still coming into focus, but we’ve got some initial takeaways on high-profile candidates, key issues, and the state of rural voters.
Dem Gains with Rural Voters Add up to Senate Victory in Penn. but not Ohio
John Fetterman improved the Democratic performance with rural voters as part of winning Pennsylvania’s Senate race. But in Ohio, Democrat Tim Ryan’s similar advance against Republican J.D. Vance did not affect the bottom line. Republicans won the rural vote in both states by about 2 to 1.
Reports Look At Climate Resiliency In Rural Communities
Two new reports from the Center for American Progress examine how rural communities can access federal grant funding to build climate resiliency.
Daily Yonder Rural Voter Poll: Worries over Inflation Dominate Midterm Election
Rural voters in battleground states are gloomy about the economy and appear ready to support Republican congressional candidates by wide margins.
Analysis: In Pennsylvania and Ohio, Democratic Senate Candidates Take Different Routes to Woo Rural Voters
Ohio’s Tim Ryan and Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman, Democratic Senate candidates, both want to improve their margins with rural voters. Their very different approaches to doing just that offer insights on rural America’s working-class vote.
Conspiracy Theorists and 16-Hour Days: Inside the Stress Elections Officials Face Ahead of the Midterms
Running elections in Texas has never been easy. But since 2020, the scrutiny elections administrators face has grown — even in small Republican-controlled counties that former President Donald Trump carried.
International Movement to Clean Up Chemical Weapons Counts on Small-Town Leadership
The last remaining stockpile of chemical weapons in the United States will soon be gone, destroyed using a process that the military and local residents agreed was safer than originally proposed. Tireless advocacy made the change possible.
Senate Turns Its Attention to Rural Housing
Two congressional hearings focused on proposed legislation aiming to preserve already strained access to subsidized housing for rural residents.
Rural Counties with the Most Population Loss Voted the Most Democratic in 2020
Joe Biden won the popular vote in only 10% of the nation’s rural counties. In rural counties with large population loss, he tended to do better. That’s because the rural counties that are losing population tend to have more people of color, and they, in turn, tend to vote more Democratic.
West Virginia, Kentucky Officials Repeatedly Ignored Plans to Prepare for Catastrophic Floods. Residents Are Paying the Price
Armed with detailed plans on how to protect from the floods and mitigate the resulting damage, both states failed to implement them.
Commentary: Kentucky Flood Victims Can’t Afford the Wait to Rebuild Their American Dream
While thousands of Kentuckians face dire housing conditions after the recent flooding, the state’s legislature scrubbed housing funding from its flood relief bill.
How to Say ‘No’ to a Warehouse
New Jersey residents want to protect their community’s rural character from a million-square-foot warehouse. But the local democratic process turns out to be complicated and – for some – suspiciously lacking in transparency.
Rural ‘Recreation Counties’ Stand Apart in Presidential Elections
Counties that are known for their outdoor recreation amenities have fewer landslide elections and more Democratic votes than rural counties of other economic types. Migration and the expanding opportunities for remote work may drive more changes in coming elections.
Analysis: A Deeper Look at the Kansas Vote on Abortion Protection
Rural and small-town voters played a big part in defeating anti-abortion constitutional referendum in Kansas.
‘Big Chicken’ Merger Moves ahead Despite Investigations by the Biden Administration
Two of the largest poultry processing companies in the country, Wayne Farms and Sanderson Farms, will soon be merged to create one corporation amid a DOJ antitrust lawsuit against the companies. One expert fears the lawsuit won’t do enough to stop the merger from overpowering the chicken industry.
Commentary: Lesser Oregon and Greater Idaho
Attempts to redraw state borders are nothing new, but current efforts to merge parts of Oregon with Idaho have taken on a much more sinister tone recently. Under the guise of lessening tensions in a politically divided state, the proposed split increases the ideological chasm.
The Inflation Reduction Act Will Pump $2 Billion into Rural Energy Programs
Funding for programs like the Rural Energy for America Program could produce sustainable demand for renewable energy and conservation in rural areas. That could lead to more jobs and lower consumption.
Commentary: John Fetterman Went Full-On Rural in the Pennsylvania Primary
Is he a model for statewide candidates elsewhere?
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