Democratic candidates Sam Forstag in Montana and Josh Turek and Rob Sand in Iowa are making household costs central to their campaigns as rural voters report economic concern.
A KFF and Associated Press survey of 2,241 rural registered voters, conducted Aug. 12-24, found 69% said it was extremely important for candidates to discuss living costs. Forty percent said Republicans would handle those costs better, compared with 25% who chose Democrats and 27% who chose neither party. Another 44% said their local economy had worsened during President Donald Trump’s second term. The full sample’s margin of sampling error was ±3 percentage points. The survey was national and does not establish how voters in Montana or Iowa view the issue.
Forstag is running for Montana’s open 1st Congressional District seat after Rep. Ryan Zinke announced he would not seek reelection. Forstag’s campaign platform proposes a 35% corporate income tax rate, more federal investment in affordable housing and a ban on hedge funds and private equity firms buying residential property. The Cook Political Report rated the race a toss-up on Oct. 16.
In Iowa, U.S. Senate candidate Turek’s platform calls for action against food price gouging and agribusiness monopolies. He also pledges not to accept corporate political action committee money. Democratic governor nominee Sand’s “Opportunities for All” plan supports small and midsize farmers and proposes a Rural Iowa Housing Task Force. In the Aug. 12 announcement, Sand said, “Our small towns and main streets are struggling.”
Forstag’s and Turek’s campaign platforms describe workers, homebuyers and smaller farmers as beneficiaries of their proposals, while corporations and large property investors would face proposed taxes or limits. Both campaigns identify corporate concentration as a problem; these are campaign claims, not enacted policies.
The Associated Press separately reported that rural voters remained unlikely to support Democrats on a large scale in November. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3.
