Ag Policy Blog

Rural America Roars

Chris Clayton
By  Chris Clayton , DTN Ag Policy Editor
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Farmers and rural America largely got the election they wanted.

While opinion writers at the New York Times and Washington Post are reeling this morning, the election of Donald Trump, with a Republican Congress, was largely a function of rural America overwhelming urban America in the polls.

The morning political shows are asking questions about how nobody saw this, but there were signs. There were so many signs. Trump-Pence and "Clinton for Prison 2016" signs were scattered across the lawns and highways in rural America. Clinton-Kaine signs were fewer and far between.

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Rural America is fed up with immigration changing the dynamics of their communities. They are fed up with Obamacare, its mandates and unfulfilled promises. And they liked what they saw as straight talk from Trump and his arguments that America is going to win again.

Farmers, for their part, see declining prices, a weak safety net and a federal government that appears to be increasingly encroaching on the farm gate.

Trump captured it in his first post-election tweet, "Such a beautiful and important evening! The forgotten man and woman will never be forgotten again. We will all come together as never before."

The forgotten man and woman are blue-collar people, who are always the center of the country in mood and economic feelings. And they resoundingly rejected the current direction of the country, Hillary Clinton and Democratic policies.

Rural America and farmers have now helped lead the charge for a potentially major transformation in the country's direction over the next four years.

Follow me on Twitter @ChrisClaytonDTN

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Comments

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RSimpkins1489533924
11/13/2016 | 6:13 PM CST
Cry me a river!!! Talk about uneducated
Jay Mcginnis
11/13/2016 | 7:28 AM CST
The man who claimed the election was rigged won by the second highest number of votes, don't forget the popular vote was in favor of Hillary, the antiquated electorial college that won Bush the election now won the greatest charlitan our country has ever seen. Despite the fact Trump's said policies will depress the farm markets the majority of rural America doesn't care, Trump best reflects their posture and values so they are willing to pay the cost. Our local schools this past week have become hot beds for White supremist students to bully minority students, out in the open, justified by the election of Donald Trump.
RSimpkins1489533924
11/11/2016 | 9:12 PM CST
I think Iowans didn't want to strikeout. I don't think gender had anything to do with the outcome. Clinton could just not be trusted and rural America is tired of being run over and called uneducated. Look where all the protest are, in the very uneducated cities by a bunch of weird liberals.
SSilverman352258374
11/11/2016 | 4:56 PM CST
My question is this: Why did rural voters who previously voted for Barack Obama abandon the Democratic Party and vote for Donald Trump? Iowa voted twice for Obama but voted decisively for Trump. What changed in Iowa over the past 4 years to cause such a dramatic turn? And how much of this was because of Hillary Clinton? Finally, and I ask this question of readers of this blog out of genuine curiosity, did gender have anything to do this? Is it possible that voters in a state like Iowa, which is my home state, are amenable to a non-white Commander-in-Chief but not a non-male?
RSimpkins1489533924
11/9/2016 | 10:12 AM CST
Jay can you give us a Whoop Whoop