Rural voters in Oregon and across the U.S. tend to be swing voters, and may decide the outcome of this year’s presidential election.
Their biggest concerns are the economy, threats to democracy, and abortion – according to a new Rural Democracy Initiative poll.
Sarah Jaynes – executive director of the initiative – said these voters want elected leaders to make lowering costs and increasing wages for working people a priority, not cutting taxes for the rich or deregulating corporations.
“They’re very focused on working people as kind of the heroes of the economy, and concerns that impact working-class people,” said Jaynes. “Rural people and small town folks are more likely to be working class. About 70% of rural folks are working class.”
Seventy-one percent of rural voters agreed with the statement: “True patriotism is protecting the freedom to live our lives as we choose.”
Just 23% agreed that “patriotism is about preserving a traditional way of life.” The poll was conducted between August 28 and September 8 in ten battleground states.
Nearly eight in ten rural voters are firmly against banning abortion. Jaynes noted that’s the same number pollsters saw in a similar survey in March.
“They either said that they were against abortion themselves, but didn’t think that the government should control a woman’s choice in the matter,” said Jaynes. “Or they just thought that abortion should be legal.”
The poll shows Donald Trump with an 18% lead over Kamala Harris among likely rural voters. But that is down from a 26% lead in March, before Harris announced her campaign.
Jaynes said the big takeaway for both major parties should be that rural voters want to see worker-centered policies.
“People want to make sure that they have the tools and the opportunities to create a good life for themselves and their families,” said Jaynes. “And that shows up in their support for child care and health care.”
