Trump wins 60 percent approval in rural areas of key states

President Trump’s job approval rating in rural areas of the Rust Belt and Great Plains states is at 60 percent, markedly higher than his job approval rating nationally, according to a new poll commissioned by Democrats

A Change Research survey sponsored by The American Federation of Teachers and One Country, a group with close ties to former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), found that 60 percent of voters from non-metro counties in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and West Virginia approve of the job Trump is doing.

{mosads}All of those states voted for Trump in 2016 with the exception of Colorado and Minnesota. Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin went red in the 2016 election for the first time in decades, and Democrats believe that rebuilding that “blue wall” represents their likeliest path back to the White House.

While Trump’s job approval rating among rural Democrats is only at 7 percent, he gets 97 percent support from rural Republicans and 51 percent support from rural independents.

Trump’s job approval rating in rural areas is better than his standing overall. The president’s national job approval rating has generally been rangebound between the high 30s and low 40s, and it currently stands at 43 percent positive and 54 percent negative in the RealClearPolitics average.

Trump’s favorable rating in rural areas is at 55 percent favorable and 40 percent unfavorable in the nine states polled.

Among the states covered by the poll, Trump is most popular in North Dakota and Pennsylvania, hitting the 60 percent favorable mark in both states. He scores his lowest marks in Michigan and Wisconsin, where his favorability rating is at 51 percent.

Trump’s favorable rating is lowest in rural areas among women (50 percent) and people aged 18 to 34 (50 percent), but he is above 50 percent among men and all older age groups.

The Change Research poll found Trump’s handling of the economy is at 61 percent positive in rural areas, including 55 percent of rural independents who say he is doing a good job on the economy.

Still, 70 percent of rural voters overall said they’re concerned that Main Street is in decline in small towns, including 56 percent of Republicans and 79 percent of independents. And 59 percent of rural independents said their wages are not keeping up with the cost of living.

A plurality of rural voters, 39 percent, said the trade war with China is hurting small towns in the short term but that it’s necessary to restore balance to global trade in the long run.

Thirty-six percent said a trade war is harmful in the short term and long term and that Trump should end the trade war with China immediately, while 14 percent said the trade war is not hurting the economy.

Gun rights and illegal immigration are the most important issues to men in rural areas, while women listed health care and illegal immigration as their top concerns.

The Change Research online survey of 5,760 registered voters in non-metro counties in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and West Virginia was conducted from Sept. 4 to Sept. 8.