Since the nineties, the rural-urban gap has had a growing role in American elections. These rural areas have shifted towards conservative values, while urban areas have become more democratic.

Rural areas have seen dwindling populations, dying economies and a world that is changing much faster than them. Rural areas have some of the lowest median incomes in the country and show a continuous rise in voting for Republican candidates.

This connection can be seen in one of the poorest counties in America, a coal country in Appalachia. This county is among the most conservative in the nation.

While Massachusetts may seem rural it is the most urbanized state in the country with only four percent of the state living in an area defined as rural. In the 2024 Presidential Election, every county in Massachusetts voted for Kamala Harris.

Once at the town level there is still a rural-urban gap, some of the least densely populated areas in central and western Massachusetts vote red.

College students tend to lean liberal and with 114 colleges and universities within Massachusetts, it’s not surprising that it votes so democratic.

The valley that Amherst resides in is known for its farms and yet the area votes predominantly democratic. The heavy concentration of universities in the area likely explains a lot of this but even among the farms, there is a different culture than one would find in many conservative farm towns.

Brookfield Farm in Amherst is one such example. The farm is a community-supported agriculture farm (CSA), meaning that shareholders buy shares of the produce ahead of time and receive it directly from the farm.

They do not sell at farmers markets or any other markets, rely on young volunteers and are a completely organic farm.

Kerry Taylor is the general manager at Brookfield Farm along with her husband. Taylor was an apprentice on the farm in 2007 but left to try and start their own farm. In 2021 Kerry and her husband returned to take over Brookfield.

She organized a rally at the end of March protesting cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

She said the rally had a “significant showing of people,” including seven local representatives, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Amherst Rep. Jim McGovern.

One difference between farms such as Brookfield and those seen in conservative areas is the competition with large farms. As farming has changed, many smaller farmers have felt squeezed by larger farms.

For Brookfield, their direct competition is other CSAs. “We’re not competing with those big potato farmers in Whately and Hatfield,” said Taylor.

Taylor also mentioned her reliance on other people, saying, “You need a wide web of people that can do things.”

In many rural areas support networks for farmers have shrunk or disappeared. People are more alone and have less community assistance than previously.

While Taylor may share similar wants or needs with rural farmers, her political views, and the ones of farmers like her, are very different than farmers in rural areas.

For Taylor, the government misstepped when it cut spending for federal programs.

One of the defining aspects of rural conservatism is that it’s support for limited government. Often behind whether someone supports limited government is the question of who deserves what.

Many rural people have a view that their taxes are being unfairly given to government employees or urban people. A common feeling among rural people is that they have been left behind by the government and are looked down upon by their urban counterparts.

Rural people believe that the money being spent is used disproportionately, with more going toward cities. While wealth is concentrated in cities, it is important to note that rural areas actually receive more money per capita compared to urban areas.

The book, “The Politics of Resentment,” quoted one rural resident, saying, “It’s like have you ever seen a politician ever cut out a program? No, because the more programs you have the more politicians and government employees it takes to run them. So, they want as many programs as possible, whether they’re any good or not.”

Distrust in the government extends to many issues. Another example is climate change.

While many rural farmers understand climate change and the issue it poses, some don’t trust the federal government and would rather local governments address it and therefore oppose climate change legislation at a federal level.

The makeup of rural areas also explains part of their push towards conservatism. Homeowners and the self-employed are much more likely to support limited government and be opposed to questions of equality.

Rural areas have many more homeowners and self-employed individuals than urban areas, with a culture of hard work. They view themselves as almost akin to wealthy business owners even though they recognize they will not amass that level of wealth.

So, for many in rural areas extra regulations and higher corporate taxes go against their moral code.

To fully understand the resentment that rural areas feel, it’s important to understand the changes experienced by rural residents.

Those who have stayed in the same area have experienced the losses of rural areas in real time. They have seen kids go off to cities because its where they can get a job, they have seen the dealership they rely on for supplies shut down and the local school close forcing kids to attend a regional school.

For rural areas, simple things are often defining elements of the town.

In “The Left Behind,” Robert Wuthnow visited several rural communities and learned what meant the most to them.

Wuthnow said, “The most revered building in town is usually the school,” noting that schools have athletic teams which have a special importance in small towns.

“The team in effect represents the community. A winning season swells community pride. A losing season leaves it depressed,” said Wuthnow. Things that may seem trivial to those in urban areas are points of immense pride for those in rural areas.

The most detrimental to rural towns is the issue of brain drain, the educated population leaving the city. Rural areas struggle to attract health workers, teachers and people who can support high tech, and highly profitable businesses. Wuthnow details one rare story of a lucky town that got a new tech business.

Alex Anderson grew up in a rural Midwestern town and had gone off to college. But in 1970 when the town was struggling, they started looking for high tech businesses to attract. They were able to get Anderson to move back and he convinced some friends to come with him.

The company Anderson started worked on polymer science applications and offered a boost to the economy of the town, but stories like Anderson’s are exceedingly rare.

Looking at two examples of farm counties, one reached its peak population in 1890 and the other in 1910. With peak populations of 19,000 and 18,800, they now have populations of 4,800 and 4,500.

All these changes reflect the globalizing world. The U.S. has shifted to a service economy, moving away from manufacturing and agriculture.

For many in rural areas, decades of dwindling populations, poverty and a feeling that the country is declining morally has created deep resentment and anger among those populations, leading to a growth in support for Republican candidates such as Trump that run on anti-elite platforms.

Ethan Walz can be reached at [email protected].