New Poll Finds Rural Voters Are Feeling The Squeeze

Rural Voters Still Back Trump, But Economic Concerns Are Growing

When it comes to support, President Donald Trump still has higher support among rural Americans than he does among voters overall. But a new poll shows just how many of them are feeling the squeeze when it comes to the economy.

About half of rural voters say the economy is worse now than when Trump returned to office, with groceries, gas, and health care among their biggest concerns.

Nearly 75% of Rural Voters Rate Their Cost of Living Poor or Fair

Those results come from a poll conducted by The Associated Press and KFF of more than 2,000 rural registered voters.

Currently, almost half of rural voters approve of Trump's overall job performance. That's compared to a separate AP-NORC poll that found roughly one-third of U.S. adults approved of his job performance.

When it comes specifically to the economy, that's where the numbers are a bit different. The AP/KFF poll found only 4 in 10 rural voters approve of the way the administration is handling the economy.

The biggest concern, though, is the rising cost of living. Nearly 75% of rural voters surveyed said they would rate the cost of living in their communities as only fair or poor. That's a 25-point increase from a similar KFF-Washington Post survey in 2017.

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Health Care Costs Are Another Major Concern

Health care is another major issue. Nine out of 10 rural voters say it's extremely or very important for candidates to talk about health care costs.

Only 17% say the administration's health policies have had a positive impact on their health care costs, while 41% say there has been no impact and another 41% say the impact has been negative.

There's a lot more to the poll than just Trump's approval numbers. Take a look at some of the biggest numbers from the poll we've pulled together in the gallery below.