Key facts
- The Harris Poll for the Guardian found rural voters were more likely than urban and suburban voters to say gas prices were hurting their finances.
- In the month before the midterms, rural Americans saying the economy was getting worse rose 17% since Trump took office, against 5% in suburbs and 3% in cities.
- Asked which party had a solution to the affordability crisis, 34% said neither, 27% said Democrats and 24% said Republicans.
- JD Vance said on Wednesday the midterm loss was the cost to pay for the Iran war.
- Democrats will control Congress for the next two years after Republicans lost toss-up races from Maine to Texas on Tuesday.
Rural voters' economic discontent preceded Republican losses in the November 3 midterm elections, according to polling by the Harris Poll for the Guardian published November 5. The survey found 61% of voters believed by October that the country was in a recession, even though technically it was not, and that the share of Republicans saying the economy was getting better had fallen to 28% from 49% in February.
The polling found 95% of Americans said over the summer that there was an affordability crisis, citing steep gas and grocery prices. Rural voters were more likely than urban and suburban counterparts to say gas prices were hurting their finances and that they were in economic survival mode, where one surprise bill could sink them. In the month before the midterms, the number of rural Americans saying the economy was getting worse climbed 17% since Trump took office, against 5% in the suburbs and 3% among urban voters.
Loggers in Maine told the poll tariffs against Canada were hurting their industry, drivers in Texas spending three-hour commutes were paying $400 a month on gas, and farmers across the Midwest said diesel prices were worsening a season hit by drought. Asked a month before the election which party had a solution to the affordability crisis, 34% said neither, 27% said Democrats and 24% said Republicans.
Trump, speaking at the Lincoln Memorial's reflecting pool on Monday, said he had traveled the country and that America was ready to vote. Republicans lost toss-up races from Maine to Texas on Tuesday, and Democrats will control Congress for the next two years. JD Vance said on Wednesday the loss was the cost to pay for the Iran war, adding that any honest conversation about the path forward must start there.