In short:
A growing number of farmers are questioning their loyalty to Donald Trump and the Republicans.
asserted
number → grow → Trump
Experts say rural America is faced with a "difficult conundrum" as voters feel the effects of high fuel prices and tariffs.
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voters → say → prices
It comes as polls show Republicans risk losing Senate seats in once safe areas at the upcoming midterm elections.
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Republicans → come → elections
Fourth generation farmer Scott Thomsen voted for Donald Trump three times.
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Thomsen → vote → Trump
But he says he won't do so again.
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he → say → ?
"I think there is a large demographic of people my age that are conservative that voted for Trump that are really unhappy with how it went," he said.
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he → think → Trump
"He did close the border [with Mexico], which he doesn't get enough credit for.
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he → close → credit
But everything else, this war with Iran, has inflated prices and created more costs for us."
The father of five farms corn, alfalfa, soybean and cattle calf in Kennard, a small agricultural community in Nebraska.
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father → inflate → Nebraska
He expected a bumper year but says, under Trump, he has seen diesel and fertiliser prices surge by 40 per cent, and some equipment now costs three times it once did.
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it → expect → times
The conflict in Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, choking off a global shipping route for fuel and other supplies farmers rely on.
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farmers → close → fuel
The 39-year-old says he can't bring himself to vote Democrat.
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he → say → Democrat
But he feels so let down by Trump's Republican Party that he probably won't vote in the upcoming midterm elections at all.
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he → feel → elections
Farmers have been a reliable voting bloc for the president, but a growing number are questioning their loyalty.
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number → grow → loyalty
Republicans appear likely to lose control of the House of Representatives in November's election.
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Republicans → appear → election
The party has focused much of its campaign fight on keeping control of the Senate, where it has a 53-47 majority.
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it → focus → majority
But polls also show Republicans risk losing precious senate seats in once safe areas.
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Republicans → show → areas
In Nebraska, where Mr Trump won by more than 20 percentage points in 2024, Republican Senator Pete Ricketts finds himself in a surprisingly competitive race.
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Ricketts → win → race
It's a trend reflected across the country, with Democrats increasingly optimistic they could win back the Senate.
"It's going to come down to which party can get their base out to the polls," professor in Political Science at Grand View University Bryan McQuide said.
uncertain
McQuide → reflect → University
Farmers split on Trump
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Farmers → split → Trump
He has been travelling to states that would normally be safe bets for Republicans such as Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma, Alaska and Nebraska.
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that → travel → Texas
At the Nebraska rally, the president pledged to expand access to tax-exempt diesel fuel — a nod to the pain farmers and truckers are facing with higher fuel prices.
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farmers → pledge → prices
In the 2024 election, the Pew Research Center found nearly seven-in-10 rural voters supported Mr Trump.
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voters → find → Trump
But Dr McQuide says in this election, rural America is faced with a "difficult conundrum" as voters feel the blunt effects of the Iran war and the president's tariff agenda.
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voters → say → war
"Farmers typically vote for Republican because they favour local control and state control; they don't want Washington dictating policies," he said.
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he → vote → policies
"But they depend on Washington for agricultural subsidies, crop support and trade policies — and here you have a trade policy that's hurting them."
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that → depend → them
One poll by AP-KFF found 57 per cent of rural voters disapprove of Mr Trump's handling of the economy.
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cent → find → economy
Another by Reuters/IPSOS found the president's approval rating among rural Americans has dropped to a new low of 50 per cent.
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rating → find → cent
Agriculture is the largest industry in Nebraska, with one in four jobs linked to it.
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jobs → link → it
The Nebraska Farmers Union says there has been a 46 per cent increase in farm bankruptcies this year.
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Union → say → bankruptcies
"What we're facing right now is a man-made economic crisis … this did not just fall out of the sky," union president John Hansen said.
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Hansen → face → sky
"This is the result of policy decisions that have been made and did not work."
Mr Hansen is a registered Democrat
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Hansen → make → decisions
It has regularly endorsed Republican congressional candidates in the past.
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It → endorse → past
But this year, it has not, and is advising members to "know, understand and vote for your own pocketbook interests".
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it → have → interests
"Rule number one: if you don't like the hole you're in, stop digging,"Mr Hansen said.
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Hansen → like → hole
'Gasoline on a fire'
Mr Hansen says tariffs can help protect certain sectors from competition in countries where goods can be produced and sold at a significantly lower cost.
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goods → say → cost
But he believes the president has misused them in "a non-discriminating kind of way" and it's hurting American farmers.
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it → believe → farmers
"Tariffs with Canada is just foolishness and bad economics," he said.
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he → say → Canada
The Trump administration has also been attempting to reorganise the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) but a federal judge has temporarily halted the sweeping changes.
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judge → attempt → changes
Mr Hansen accused the administration of trying to dismantle the USDA during a "farm crisis".
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Hansen → accuse → crisis
"It is the most radical thing that I have seen from a public policy standpoint in my over 50 years of being an elected public official or head of a farm organisation," he said.
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he → see → organisation
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
