{"id":16252,"date":"2026-06-03T21:19:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=16252"},"modified":"2026-06-03T21:19:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:19:51","slug":"midwest-farmers-struggles-test-gop-loyalty-ahead-of-midterms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=16252","title":{"rendered":"Midwest farmers\u2019 struggles test GOP loyalty ahead of midterms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"458\" height=\"259\" src=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/83.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16253\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/83.png 458w, https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/83-300x170.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 458px) 100vw, 458px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Farmers in the Midwest are struggling under President Trump\u2019s tariffs and rising costs during the Iran war, testing a key GOP voting bloc as the party seeks to hold on to its control of Congress this November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump was overwhelmingly backed by farmers in 2024 \u2014 winning all but 11 of 444 farming-dependent counties, as defined by the Department of Agriculture. But the president has seen a drop in support from farmers since taking office, with the latest Farm Futures Q1 survey showing confidence in the president down 10 points from the previous survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marc Short, longtime aide to former Vice President Mike Pence and chair of Advancing American Freedom, highlighted this falling support among farmers, noting \u201cMake Our Farmers Great Again\u201d hats were once commonplace at Trump campaign rallies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut things are different now,\u201d he wrote in a Washington Post op-ed on Monday. \u201cPresident Trump\u2019s trade policies have punched farmers in the mouth, and this time there\u2019s no global pandemic to blame.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRepublicans who continue to ignore this reality do so at their peril,\u201d Short warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fertilizer prices have become a major concern, with 70 percent of farmers saying in a recent poll that they cannot afford all the fertilizer they need. At the same time, farm bankruptcies reached their highest level in six years this April, raising concerns that Trump\u2019s policies could become a political liability for Republican candidates in key Midwestern states this November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last year, Trump\u2019s tariffs triggered retaliatory import taxes from many of the country\u2019s largest trading partners, contributing to a sharp decline in U.S. exports. In Canada, one of the top two U.S. trade partners, consumers boycotted some American goods, and U.S. agricultural exports fell by more than $1 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration, however, has signaled it recognizes farmers\u2019 concerns. On Monday, the president signed a proclamation lowering tariffs on some aluminum and steel products, including agricultural equipment, from 25 percent to 15 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The president also plans to travel to Wisconsin on Friday to tout his rural initiatives and \u201cto highlight his strong support for Wisconsin\u2019s farmers,\u201d White House spokesperson Liz Huston said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWisconsin families put their faith in President Trump in 2024, and he has spent every single day since taking office fighting and delivering for them,\u201d Huston said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The administration previously extended aid to farmers, including in December, when Trump announced $12 billion farmer bridge payments for \u201cAmerican farmers impacted by unfair market disruptions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But farmers in Midwestern states are still facing economic challenges, with 94 percent saying in an April survey that their financial situation has worsened or remained the same since last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2025, 15,000 farms closed, and farm bankruptcies were up 46 percent, after rising by 55 percent in 2024. By this May, according to The New York Times, bankruptcies were up by 70 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Agricultural concerns are becoming a political issue in Nebraska, where independent candidate Dan Osborn represents Democrats\u2019 best chance in the race to unseat incumbent Sen. Pete Ricketts (R).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe president is historically unpopular right now nationwide,\u201d Nebraska-based GOP strategist Ryan Horn told The Hill in May. \u201cAnd while that doesn\u2019t affect Nebraska as much \u2014 because it\u2019s a very Republican state \u2014 the tariff policies and the war in Iran, they are kind of underreported stories, how hard that is hitting rural America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Horn noted tariffs have depressed foreign markets for grain, corn and soybeans, while increasing the cost of fertilizer and equipment, since steel is necessary for things like harvesters and rotary irrigators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Republican strategist said the economic challenges could become bigger issues going into November, noting \u201cthere\u2019s no question\u201d farmers are losing patience with the Trump administration\u2019s tariffs and the rising costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFarmers are frustrated, ag leaders are frustrated. They\u2019re frustrated with these high costs. They\u2019re frustrated with the low commodity prices,\u201d Horn said. \u201cIt\u2019s making their lives more difficult. It\u2019s making it hard to turn a profit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNow, will that affect their vote? Will they cross parties in large numbers to vote for someone from the other party? I mean, that\u2019s the big question,\u201d he added. \u201cWill they look at it and say, \u2018Donald Trump\u2019s not on the ballot, I blame these tariffs and things, and so I\u2019m going to vote against Pete Ricketts?\u2019 That\u2019s a tough case to make for a campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A similar problem for the GOP is taking shape in Iowa, where Democrats view the governor\u2019s mansion and outgoing Republican Sen. Joni Ernst\u2019s seat as two key pickup opportunities amid the economic discontent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m not trying to dodge the fact that the tariffs hurt. What I am trying to tell you is we get it, our farmers get it,\u201d Iowa Republican Party Chair Jeff Kaufmann said, Bloomberg reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy job is to keep the Trump voters voting for us and keep reminding people that things take time,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Timothy Hagle, a political science professor at the University of Iowa, said the consequences for the general election will depend on the patience of Trump\u2019s voters, especially as rising fertilizer costs become more pressing as farmers prepare to plant crops this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn terms of the general election, we\u2019re still a long way out, and things can change,\u201d Hagle said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you\u2019re a farmer and you\u2019re dealing with higher prices for fertilizer, or whatever else it happens to be, this is obviously a very personal kind of a thing for you, and so that affects you directly,\u201d Hagle said. \u201cThose are the kinds of things that do often determine what your vote is going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hagle said he thinks pro-Trump farmers are receptive to the president\u2019s tariff argument of \u201cshort-term pain for long-term gain,\u201d but he said there is a limit to how long farmers can absorb the costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAt a certain point,\u201d Hagle added, \u201cas a farmer, you probably can\u2019t make that trade off anymore because you\u2019ve got other things that become more pressing just for your own personal financial stability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hagle noted there currently is a \u201cmixed economy,\u201d with the stock market hitting record highs in the past year, though he said the benefits of those achievements don\u2019t always reach farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s great if you\u2019ve got investments, and I suppose maybe even some farmers do, but usually their financial resources are tied up in machinery and land and things like that,\u201d he added. \u201cSo it\u2019s not necessarily something that helps them when it comes time to pay their fertilizer bill.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Farmers in the Midwest are struggling under President Trump\u2019s tariffs and rising costs during the Iran war, testing a key GOP voting bloc as the party seeks to hold on to its control of Congress this November. Trump was overwhelmingly backed by farmers in 2024 \u2014 winning all but 11 of 444 farming-dependent counties, as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":16253,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[61],"class_list":["post-16252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-usa"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Midwest farmers\u2019 struggles test GOP loyalty ahead of midterms - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=16252\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Midwest farmers\u2019 struggles test GOP loyalty ahead of midterms - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Farmers in the Midwest are struggling under President Trump\u2019s tariffs and rising costs during the Iran war, testing a key GOP voting bloc as the party seeks to hold on to its control of Congress this November. 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