Most rural voters and more than 60% of rural young people said they support raising incomes for working people and lowering the cost of living, rather than tax cuts for the rich and corporate deregulation.
The findings are from a new poll from the Rural Democracy Initiative.
D’Erika Jones, voter empowerment canvasser for the group Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, said, with a few weeks to go before the election, there’s a high level of enthusiasm among Kentuckians.
“People are very excited to vote,” Jones explained. “We deal with a lot of college kids, so it’d be their first time voting and they’re super excited. They feel like maybe their vote will make a difference and I encourage them and tell them that it does.”
Another poll by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights found 93% of voters said they are highly motivated to get to the ballot box. But more than seven in 10 say they are somewhat or very worried about political violence erupting after the election, with self-described liberals being more worried than moderates and conservatives. The general election is Nov. 5.
Sarah Jaynes, executive director of the Rural Democracy Initiative, said the poll also sheds light on how rural voters feel about noneconomic issues. She noted 77% of rural and small town folks said they are against banning abortion.
“They either said that they were against abortion themselves but didn’t think that the government should control a woman’s choice in the matter, or they just thought that abortion should be legal,” Jaynes outlined.
While jobs, the economy, and inflation remain top concerns for rural voters, 14% named threats to democracy as their highest priority, followed by immigration and programs like Social Security and Medicare.
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Written by Nadia Ramlagan for the KY News Service.
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