Some Nebraska farmers have lost trust in President Trump — ABC News Australia
In Nebraska, some farmers who previously supported Donald Trump say they are disappointed in the president and the Republican Party ahead of the US midterm elections on November 3. One of them is fourth-generation farmer Scott Thomsen from the town of Kennard, who voted for Trump three times but now says he will not support him again, ABC News reports.
Thomsen grows corn, alfalfa and soybeans, and also raises cattle. According to him, diesel fuel and fertilizer prices have risen by 40% during Trump’s presidency, while some equipment has become three times more expensive. He also links the additional costs to the war in Iran, which has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, an important global route for supplies of fuel and other goods.
Risks for Republicans
Republicans hold a 53-to-47-seat majority in the US Senate and are focusing their campaign on retaining it. At the same time, in Nebraska, where Trump won the 2024 election by more than 20 percentage points, Republican Senator Pete Ricketts is running an unexpectedly competitive campaign.
Grand View University political scientist Brian McQuaid believes the outcome will largely depend on which party can mobilize its electorate. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly seven in 10 rural voters supported Trump in the 2024 election. At the same time, an AP-KFF poll found that 57% of rural residents disapprove of his approach to the economy, while a Reuters/Ipsos poll recorded a decline in the president’s approval rating among rural Americans to 50%.
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Costs and farm bankruptcies
Agriculture is Nebraska’s largest industry, with one in four jobs in the state connected to it. The Nebraska Farmers Union reported that the number of farm bankruptcies increased by 46% this year.
The organization’s president, John Hansen, links the situation to policy decisions by the Trump administration, including tariffs. He acknowledged that tariffs can protect certain sectors from cheaper imports, but believes their broad application harms American farmers. Hansen also criticized an attempt to reorganize the US Department of Agriculture, which a federal judge temporarily halted.
Thomsen said he is not ready to vote for a Democrat but may not participate in the midterm elections at all. In his view, the Republican Party should pay more attention to domestic policy.
