Description
Book SynopsisThis pathbreaking book pinpoints forces behind the rise of the “rural voter”—a new political identity that combines a deeply felt sense of place with an increasingly nationalized set of concerns.
Trade ReviewIn this important book, two political scientists—rural themselves—set the record straight on the rural voter. Based on a massive voter survey stretching from 1824 to 2020, Nicholas F. Jacobs and Daniel M. Shea carefully puzzle over reasons so many rural Americans now despair of the Democratic Party and even see it as the enemy. They add to this a brilliant analysis of Hollywood’s view of rural Americans, shifting from quaint to backward to menacing and beyond. If you live in the city, read this book. -- Arlie Russell Hochschild, author of
Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American RightThe thing that stands out the most is the way Jacobs and Shea examine and often dismantle long-standing stereotypes and conventional media narratives with empathy. The data and historical research are rigorous and important, but the nuance and curiosity the authors bring to the table are
The Rural Voter’s special sauce. -- Amy Walter, publisher and editor in chief of
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterForget what you think you know about rural politics in the United States. With high-quality data and careful analysis, Jacobs and Shea demonstrate that rural voters are not particularly down-and-out or fired up by religion, racism, conservative media, and ideology. Instead, rural economic and civic struggles, which are not unique, have generated a sense of place-based grievance that reflects rural voters' beliefs about the value of rural life and a linked fate as rural residents. -- Douglas D. Roscoe, author of
The Promise of Democratic Equality in the United StatesIt’s a rare book on American politics that has a sense of place. The authors, who hail from rural communities and know their neighbors, show that “geography matters”—but not at all in the ways our stereotyped notions of rural (and urban) tell us. -- Bill Bishop, author of
The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us ApartThis book contains what surely must be the most comprehensive study of rural voters ever produced. Based largely on a massive new database, Jacobs and Shea’s analyses provide a treasure trove of new findings and along the way modify or overturn a number of popular generalizations about urban versus rural voters. -- Morris P. Fiorina, author of
Unstable Majorities: Polarization, Party Sorting, and Political StalemateFor those seeking a comprehensive, thoroughly researched volume about rural voters with original data and insightful analysis, stop looking.
The Rural Voter provides an unbiased account of rural voters that does not fall prey to partisan stereotypes. I have little doubt this pathbreaking book will reshape our understanding of a key change in American politics. -- Joanne Connor Green, author of
Government and Politics in the Lone Star StateA pioneering work, based on solid evidence, shattering myths about rural voters and insightfully explaining their shift toward Trump support. -- Gerald M. Pomper, author,
Ordinary Heroes and American DemocracyTable of ContentsPreface
Introduction: Two Americas
1. Who and What Is Rural America?
2. The Deep Roots of the Rural-Urban Divide (1776–1980)
3. Manufacturing the Myth of “Real America” (1980–Present)
4. Listening to Rural Americans
5. Down and Out in Rural America?
6. A Wasteland of Alienation?
7. Clinging to Their Guns and Religion?
8. Irredeemably Racist?
9. Radicalized by Fox?
10. Pulling It All Together: Finding the Rural Voter
11. Bridges Across the Rural-Urban Divide
Notes
Index
