Both are moderate Midwesterners who have pitched their presidential campaigns on a promise to speak to the heartland voters who moved away from Democrats in 2016. Both come from mostly white states where black leaders have questioned their records on issues of racial justice. And both are polling at or […] Read more »
Is Trump really the MVP of the GOP?
After a tumultuous 2018 that saw them lose their House majority, Republicans often seem eager to dismiss those midterm results as typical while pining for the next election when President Donald Trump will top the ballot and drive turnout in their favor. A closer look, however, shows Trump may not […] Read more »
Democrats Don’t Have a Future in the Rust Belt
For Democrats, the Sun Belt imperative is growing more urgent. While most in the party are preoccupied with winning back the three Rust Belt states that tipped the 2016 election to Donald Trump, both people and political power are continuing to migrate inexorably from that region to the younger and […] Read more »
Five myths about rural America that muddle the political realities
In political, media and academic circles, the Trump era has sparked renewed interest in rural America — the supposedly “forgotten” areas of the country where white, non-college-educated voters gave the president the electoral edge he needed to prevail in 2016. The near-singular focus on Donald Trump has yielded a body […] Read more »
3 reasons Midwest farmers hurt by the U.S.-China trade war still support Trump
It’s harvest time. AP Photo/Charlie Riedel Wendong Zhang, Iowa State University; Lulu Rodriguez, Iowa State University, and Shuyang Qu, Iowa State University America’s farmers have borne the brunt of China’s retaliation in the trade war that President Donald Trump launched in 2018. One reason: China is the biggest buyer of […] Read more »
Trump campaign pessimistic about winning Michigan again
Donald Trump has long heralded Michigan as the crown jewel of his 2016 victory. But the president’s campaign team is increasingly grim about a repeat performance in the traditionally blue Rust Belt state. After a midterm election that decimated the ranks of Michigan Republicans, Trump’s campaign is looking to other […] Read more »