Here & Now

As to Donald Trump's record low approval ratings, his grip may even be slipping with his strongest base.

Voters in rural areas.

Steven Potter has this report on Trump's political power in rural Wisconsin.

And if his influence helps or hurts Republicans on the ballot.

So on Election Day, November 3rd, you got to do me a favor.

You got to get out and vote, and you're going to pretend I'm on the ballot.

Because in a way, I am on the ballot.

There's no denying Donald Trump's political power and his desire to snatch the spotlight, even though he's not on the ballot in November.

Pretend I'm on the ticket because this is going to turn out to be one of the most important elections.

It's a midterm.

And his reasoning to do so, he says, is to motivate voters to choose Republican candidates so his party can maintain majority control of Congress.

But the president's popularity is declining even in rural areas.

The cost of diesel fuel is breaking records.

Tariffs and trade wars are hurting crop sales and war overseas adds to financial uncertainty.

The great debate is will Donald Trump help Republican candidates or hurt them?

Joe Handrick is a Republican political analyst and former Republican state lawmaker.

He thinks Trump can help push people to the polls, especially in midterm elections, which are known for lower voter turnout.

I think Donald Trump is needed to help bring out those nontraditional voters that that like him, but who otherwise may stay at home this November.

Up until recently, Republicans always benefited from a lower turnout.

But in the last few years, that has really switched.

Democratic voters are now more highly motivated to vote their more regular voters.

The areas of the state that have become more Republican contain more voters who are occasional voters.

And the state's more rural areas are decidedly Republican.

In the Trump era.

Western and northern Wisconsin, particularly rural communities, have gotten very, very red.

Rural Wisconsin voters are vital to the Republican election strategy, serving as a counterweight to the state's deep blue urban centers.

And because Wisconsin is one of the nation's most closely divided swing states, higher voter turnout in rural areas can be the deciding factor in regional and statewide elections.

Sauk County is very purple.

I mean, it's pretty much 5050 across the board.

Our voters here have been very predictive of how elections have turned out.

There's one spot in rural Wisconsin that might be the best place to measure Donald Trump's political influence.

Except for one race, Sauk County has voted for the statewide winner in elections for president, U.S.

Senate and governor since the year 2000.

For president, that means that Sauk County voted for Donald Trump in 2016, Joe Biden in 2020, and then again picked Trump in 2024.

Donald Trump was such a driving force in that election.

That's why he won.

Jerry Helmer is chair of the Republican Party of Sauk County.

He says that Trump's double victory here is why the Republican president could and should help push Republican candidates across the finish line in November.

But he also remembers past elections.

Trump just drew the young people out in in droves.

And something that I saw happen in Sauk County actually was a lot of the younger people and people that were new to voting, they only voted for Donald Trump.

They didn't vote down ballot.

And that made a huge difference because we lost down ballot in that election when we shouldn't have.

Everybody I talked to, when we have meetings, membership meetings, the comments are always, always coming back to the current administration.

Judith Willink Grose is the chair of the Sauk County Democratic Party.

She says Trump is also a hot topic for Democrats, and they're using his unpopularity to rally and reach voters in their base.

When candidates are out there.

You know that the whole thing about Trump is in the back of their mind.

And when you go door to door, it always comes up.

But he still may pull in more Republican voters than he pushes away.

He talks to people like most people talk.

That's what attracted me to him initially was, you know, this guy talks like I do.

He doesn't hold his tongue.

He says what he thinks.

He's a bit of an arrogant at times, but that's who he is.

Look at what he's done with a golf America and how a Lake America.

You know, those types of things.

And maybe that's something to be proud of.

If you're a patriot and you care about this country.

But gross says Trump's influence is diminished.

His political power in rural Wisconsin, particularly with farmers, is not as strong as it was the actions of President Trump are helping the Democrats because we offer a very stark contrast to what he has offered and what he has carried through on.

We have a president that is been very clear about making the midterm election about him.

UW green Bay political science professor David Helpap is keenly watching the state's rural voters.

While it varies in severity from pole to pole, Donald Trump is losing ground with rural Americans.

Reuters Ipsos poll found only 31% of rural residents approved of the president's handling of the economy.

And a Fox News poll found Trump's rural approval rating dropped to a record low of 44%.

Helpap says many of the issues important to rural voters are also important to urban and suburban voters.

Rising costs, affordability issues, concerns about data centers and concerns about foreign affairs, and what that's doing to domestic issues.

But he adds that some things hit harder in communities where agriculture is the primary source of income.

Those issues are also sort of outsized in rural communities, particularly related to the costs for food, for diesel, fuel, for fertilizer, because these have a big impact on rural communities.

Over the last decade, the urban rural divide has deepened significantly.

And in 2024, Donald Trump won Wisconsin's rural areas by more than 20%, showcasing just how deeply anchored the GOP is to these communities.

Over the last several election cycles, when President Trump hasn't been on the ballot, turnout has been lower, particularly for typically Republican voters.

Helpap says enthusiasm for better or worse, could affect turnout.

Maybe you don't go and vote for a Democrat, but maybe you just stay home.

Still, both Democrats and Republicans are using Trump to help them push people to the polls.

I don't know if I'll use the phrase blue wave.

I mean, that's very colorful and kind of exciting, but.

The Democratic candidates are doing well.

Republicans tend to be lazy when it comes to the midterms and turning out to vote.

That's why we keep getting beat.

But I don't think it's going to be true this time.

County.

I'm Steven Potter for Here and Now.

Later in the program, a closer look at the youth