Many rural voters are generational voters, meaning they vote like their parents did, who voted like their parents did.
In Wisconsin, this all began after WWII, with McCarthyism and the unfortunate fact that rural voters are poorly educated.
They believed commies were everywhere. Millions of them, embedded in every single branch of government, every single business and every single school. This is when 'distrust' put 'science & fact' into the opinion category. The Tea Party nuts embraced even more conspiracies. Facts & scientific proof are just opinions. There are now 7 Million laws of gravity in Wisconsin?
Now, decades later, we see what the Walker 'gerrymander plot' created. Even a pandemic could not get the GOP to hold Legislative sessions.
I do think we will see a shift in rural voters toward the center, because Wisc agribusiness must go 'green' to survive.
Younger rural voters are far more intelligent than previous generations. They do have more 'inquisitiveness' to find facts, find out about the 'outside' world and; instead of simply leaving the farms... realize they can re-invent agriculture as a 21st century industry.
Cows can be 'green' and younger Wisc farmers will accomplish that goal. Carbon neutral farming.
When the younger generations inherit the farms, the agriculture industries and are given decision making control, they will create the 'green economy'.
And they will do that in the state that invented 'green' and 'ecology' and 'earth day'. Simple concepts created when the Dems ruled.
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