Rural America, even as it laments its economic weakness, retains vastly disproportionate electoral strength. Rural voters were able to nudge Donald J. Trump to power despite Hillary Clinton’s large margins in cities like New York. In a House of Representatives that structurally disadvantages Democrats because of their tight urban clustering, rural voters helped Republicans hold their cushion. In the Senate, the least populous states are now more overrepresented than ever before. And the growing unity of rural Americans as a voting bloc has converted the rural bias in national politics into a potent Republican advantage.
Indeed it has, as the Illinois returns from Nov. 8 made clear. This week in my column, I take on the structural imbalances in our system of political representation that twice in 16 years has kept Americans’ choice out of the White House.
Those interested in fuller analysis might wish to look at Emily Badger’s “As American as Apple Pie? The Rural Vote’s Disproportionate Slice of Power” in the Nov. 20 New York Times.
This article appears in Nov 17-23, 2016.
