Election results highlight rural-urban divide - Entrepreneur Generations

Yesterday's election highlights the deep divide between rural and urban Americans. "Fueled mainly by gains in urban/suburban areas, Democrats won control of the U.S. House of Representatives, providing a potential check and balance next year on President Donald Trump, especially with special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation," Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann report for NBC. "Fueled mainly by turnout in rural America — especially in states Trump won by significant margins in 2016 — Republicans expanded their Senate majority, picking up what looks like two seats (and it could be three if Rick Scott hangs on in Florida)." Scott appears to have won but the race could go to a recount.

Washington Post chart

"Democratic incumbent senators who performed poorly with rural voters were part of the Republican formula that helped the GOP retain control of the Senate for at least the next two years," Tim Marema reports for The Daily Yonder. That includes Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, who lost after Republican Josh Hawley performed well with rural voters. McCaskill performed 30 points worse in the rural counties than in 2012.

Support for Republicans was down from 2016 across the board: among rural, suburban and urban voters; among blue and white collar workers; and among voters at all levels of education. "Republicans may have garnered more votes across the battlegrounds, but only by a fraction of a percentage point. That compares with a Trump win of almost six points in 2016," Ted Mellnik and Kevin Schaul report for The Washington Post. "Across racial lines, Republicans won handily in areas that are more than 90 percent white, but by less than half of Trump’s margin. And in majority nonwhite areas, Democratic candidates also won by less than Hillary Clinton two years ago. Both shifts may be related to relative declines in turnout for minority as well as rural voters."

Though President Trump was not on yesterday's ballots, most voters viewed the election as a referendum on his presidency. "Nearly two thirds of voters said they cast their ballot for Congress either to support Trump (26 percent) or oppose him (38 percent). More voters said they were casting a ballot to support Trump than oppose him in Senate races in Missouri, Indiana and North Dakota, three states where Republicans beat Democratic incumbents," Reid Wilson reports for The Hill.

In January, the two parties (and their bases) will likely continue drifting apart and "double down on divisiveness heading into 2020," Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei write for Axios.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2qw8umc Election results highlight rural-urban divide - Entrepreneur Generations

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