Rural Voters See Little Difference between Political Parties

Center for Rural Affairs

The rural vote is up for grabs. That is good for rural people because it sends a message to both parties that they can neither write us off nor take us for granted.

A Center for Rural Strategies poll of rural voters in 13 key swing states illustrates a critical rural battleground in the fall election. No one is predicting that the Republican presidential candidate will lose the rural vote. The question is the margin, and it’s critical to the outcome of the national election.

Republicans may take heart in learning that most rural voters believe Barack Obama does not share their values. But they can take no comfort in rural voters giving Democrats an eight point advantage on managing the economy and most agreeing that “John McCain served his country honorably, but does not seem to understand my economic problems.”

Democrats complain that rural voters ignore their own economic interests in voting for Republicans. While rural voters give an edge to Democrats in managing the economy overall, the party has not persuaded voters that it will do a better job of dealing with the economic issues closest to home – rural issues. A little over one-third favor Barack Obama on that score and the same proportion John McCain.

(More here.)