In red and blue states, Democrats are consolidating their hold on the most economically productive places. Metropolitan areas won by President Joe Biden in 2020 generated more of the total economic output than metros won by Donald Trump in 35 of the 50 states, according to new research by Brookings […] Read more »
The Resentment Fueling the Republican Party Is Not Coming From the Suburbs
Rural America has become the Republican Party’s life preserver. Less densely settled regions of the country, crucial to the creation of congressional and legislative districts favorable to conservatives, are a pillar of the party’s strength in the House and the Senate and a decisive factor in the rightward tilt of […] Read more »
Facts, Feelings and Rural Politics
The hard-right turn of rural America has become a key factor in our nation’s troubled politics. Rural voters are a declining share of the electorate, but their turn to the MAGAfied Republican Party has been so sharp that, combined with the way our political system underweights urban voters, the radicalization […] Read more »
How long can Democrats keep losing rural voters and still survive?
In the past few election cycles, color-coded result maps have developed a very familiar pattern at the county level. They mostly look like seas of Republican red punctuated by small islands of Democratic blue, even in races that end up being close. Those maps are a sign of a major […] Read more »
Omicron surge hasn’t hit rural communities … yet
Since it arrived in the United States, the Covid-19 virus has been a national story that is felt at the local level. Different communities have experienced the worst of the pandemic at different times. The pandemic started as a coastal story back in 2020, but it wasn’t long until it […] Read more »
Youngkin’s rural voter landslide sounds alarms for Democrats
Republicans had a satisfying Election Day last week, particularly in Virginia, where Glenn Youngkin captured the governor’s mansion after former President Donald Trump lost the state by 10 points in 2020. There were a number of factors behind that big swing, but one of the biggest was the GOP’s strength […] Read more »