RVI Report: Communicating with Rural Voters of Faith
The correlation between religiosity and rurality in the United States emphasizes the importance of communicating with rural voters of faith ahead of the 2020 elections. The Rural Voter Institute’s quantitative research found a path for successful dialogue with rural faith voters: nearly 50 percent of rural voters surveyed who attend church services on a weekly basis either vote for Democratic candidates or are open to voting for them. Survey research in Wisconsin over the summer found that among weekly church attenders in rural and small towns, 24% generally lean toward Democrats and another 24% say they “mostly vote Republican but will sometimes vote for a Democrat or two.” Only 36% of weekly church attenders in these areas say they “usually vote a straight Republican ticket.”
Grounding Democratic candidates in language that expresses their values, particularly representing small-town rural values, is imperative for narrowing margins with rural voters. Republicans hold a double-digit lead over Democrats on the question of “sharing your values” (49 to 36) among rural voters surveyed. Among weekly church attenders, the “shares your values” margin is +39 GOP (25 to 64), but there is room for Democrats to reach the nearly half of rural faith voters willing to consider and vote for a Democrat.
Top Line Findings:
Putting arguments in the context of faith traditions moves rural voters.
Values and faith tradition influence rural voters’ world view and political views, specifically values identification, and must be acknowledged and discussed.
Values-based communication must be in moral terms – right versus wrong – and may or may not be explicitly faith-based but must be authentic.
Diversity of belief among rural voters must be respected.
Download the report for more detailed recommendations and findings.