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What's behind the rural/urban political divide?

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Talk of Iowa, hosted by Charity Nebbe

We all understand that American politics are deeply divided politically right now. This division is complicated and multi-faceted, but one of the easiest ways to visualize the divide is to look at electoral maps. Rural parts of the country are primarily red, while urban areas are primarily blue. There are many stories told and assumptions made about this urban/rural divide. IPR’s Sheila Brummer is based in western Iowa and covers many of the most rural parts of the state. She shares what she is hearing from voters.

Then we hear from government professors Nicholas Jacobs and Daniel Shea. From fall 2020 to summer 2022, they fielded what may be the largest, most detailed set of surveys of rural voters ever conducted. Combined, their sample of 14,000 U.S. residents included 10,000 who live in rural areas. They merged this individual-level data with a massive county-level aggregate data set, boasting election and census information back to 1824. They have written about what they found in the book, The Rural Voter: The Politics of Place and the Disuniting of America.

Guests:

  • Sheila Brummer, IPR’s Western Iowa reporter
  • Nick Jacobs, assistant professor of government, Colby College
  • Dan Shea, professor of government at Colby College
Charity Nebbe is the host of IPR's Talk of Iowa
Caitlin Troutman is a talk show producer at Iowa Public Radio