There’s a lot at stake for rural America during each election cycle. When election season heats up, stay tuned to the Daily Yonder for reporting and analysis on the role of rural voters and rural issues in the race, the results, and the road ahead.
Live Results
See the maps below for the latest results for U.S. House and Senate races. The data updates automatically as polls close and votes are tallied. Click or tap on a state for more detailed county-by-county or district-level results. (Source: Decision Desk HQ)
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Top Story
Rural Jails Turn to Community Health Workers To Help the Newly Released Succeed
Substance abuse and mental illness, both common among incarcerated people, make reentry difficult. These professionals want to ease the burden.
More Stories
New Proposals Inch Farm Bill Toward Finish Line
Seven months past the farm bill’s expiration date, Congress still has not passed new legislation. Last week, there were finally rumblings of progress in D.C.
Maine’s Firefighters Rarely Fight Fires. Instead They’re Answering Medical Calls.
In 2022, just 4.5 percent of calls that came into Maine fire departments were for fires. Seventy percent were for medical assistance.
Analysis: From Fringe to Mainstream – Vermont-Grown Progressivism
A brief overview of Vermont’s contemporary political history reveals that progressive politics are anything but an urban-exclusive phenomenon.
Analysis: Rural Communities of Color Overrepresented in FEMA’s Disaster Risk Zones
Researchers with the Urban Institute found that a disproportionate number of communities designated at-risk for natural hazards are rural communities and rural communities of color.
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Commentary: Accountability Starts with Community
Rural communities have the tools to hold their elected officials accountable for their decisions, but to be effective they need to remain engaged and active in their local politics and advocacy.
Review: Book on Rural ‘Rage’ Is a Grindstone in Search of an Ax
“White Rural Rage” is a smug misdirection of the threats to American democracy.
Over 3,000 homes on the Navajo Nation Receive Accurate Addresses for the First Time
The Rural Utah Project is encouraging rural residents to use Plus Codes, a free addressing system created by Google. The project was intended to improve voter registration, but for residents of the Navajo Nation it brought many other benefits: from better emergency response time to mail delivery.
Grants for Small Towns and Rural Areas Focus on Enhancing Civic Life
The Trust for Civic Life is a new funding collaborative that will support the “ordinary” activities that build stronger communities.
Rural Population Grows for Second Consecutive Year
The Census’ most recent population estimates covering 2023 shows that rural counties gained population, primarily in counties that are close to metropolitan areas.
Taber’s Campaign for N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture Is About Empowering Rural Residents
North Carolina Democrat Sarah Taber wants to build rural North Carolina livelihoods through the agricultural economy.
Six Months Late, Congress Finalizes 2024 Federal Budget
The second slate of federal spending bills will mostly go to defense and homeland security.
Advocates: Too Early to Judge Effectiveness of Federal Investments in Rural Maternity Care
Although the wave of new state and federal funding is finally reaching struggling rural hospitals, experts say more work is still needed, while the full effects may not be clear for years.
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Looking Back
2020: The Rural Vote
Trump Maintains His Large Rural Margin; Democratic Vote Grows the Most in Mid-Sized and Large Metros
A big drop in third-party votes means both the Democratic and Republican candidates get a larger share of the total vote than they did in 2016.
Breaking Down the Battleground States
In Georgia, Atlanta Suburbs Deliver for Biden, But Extra Rural Votes Are Part of His Lead
Biden did slightly better with rural voters than Hillary Clinton did in 2016, contributing to his narrow lead over Trump. But Trump won rural voters 2 to 1.
Major-Metro Suburbs Give Biden His Margin of Victory in Pennsylvania
Biden got beat 3 to 1 among rural voters. But he improved his rural turnout enough to allow his metropolitan advantage to give him the win.
Modest Gains in Rural Votes Help Biden Flip Michigan and Wisconsin
In Ohio, where Donald Trump maintained a nearly 50-point advantage with rural voters, the president won the race statewide by 8 points.
The Presidential Campaign: The Race for Rural Votes
Electoral Patchwork: Both Parties Look for Success in a South That Is Less Monolithic
Democrats are betting that demographic and economic change will improve their chances of success. Republicans are trying to preserve a Southern firewall.
Electoral Patchwork: The Midwestern Path to the White House
Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and Minnesota are once again at the center of the presidential race. Joe Biden holds a steady lead, but many experts believe the vote is still in flux.
Electoral Patchwork: Where Does the Rural Vote Fit in National Elections?
Could a decrease in rural support be part of a disappointing season for Republican candidates? The Daily Yonder looks at presidential and congressional races in three states: Pennsylvania, Maine, and Montana.
Analysis and Data
If Trump’s Rural Edge Has Eroded, What Does that Mean for Electoral Math?
The latest Fox News poll suggests Donald Trump’s rural advantage has dropped by two-thirds since 2016.
Distance and Density, Not Just Demographics, Affect Urban-Rural Vote
Are two people who are demographically identical likely to have different political preferences if one lives in a rural area and the other in an urban one? This study says yes.
What can we learn from prior Elections?
The Rural Buzz – A Special Series on Rural Social Media Activity During the 2020 Election
This Yonder-exclusive series analyzes the political sentiments of rural social media users in six battleground states.
The Rural Campaign Trail
How the Party Conventions Dealt with Rural America
High-profile speeches made limited mention of rural policy concerns, but new formats elevated stories from rural people and places.
Deep Canvassing: National Network Says Technique Offers a Way to Engage Rural Voters
A report from People’s Action says its “deep canvassing” project could have an impact on the 2020 election.
Commentary: In Wisconsin, a Democratic Plan to Reach Rural Voters Started with Listening
The party’s environmental caucus is helping candidates connect with rural voters by
fighting large-scale agricultural waste that they say harms communities.
Analysis: How Iowa Prepped the Field for Winning Back Rural Voters
This year’s Democratic candidates have better policies with which to court America’s rural voters. You can thank Iowa.
Book Review: ‘Harvest the Vote – How Democrats Can Win Again in Rural America’
The book by the head of the Nebraska Democratic Party makes strong arguments why Democrats should reach out for rural voters. The question is whether anyone will listen.
The 2020 Presidential Primary
2016 in Retrospect
The 2018 Midterms
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