Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Poll underlines rural/urban partisan divides, but suggests possible bridges in worldviews and values

A new Axios/Survey Monkey poll explores the notion that some of the rural-urban divide is driven by suspicion that people in other types of communities look down on them. "Sizable minorities from both cities and rural areas said they're worried about how the other perceives them, and partisan politics explains a lot of those divisions," Stef Kight reports for Axios.

According to the survey, 43.1 percent of rural residents surveyed said they think people living in a major urban city view them negatively, Kight reports. About one-third of respondents who live in a major city, 34.6%, said they believe rural residents think of them negatively.

Questions about partisan politics revealed the largest rural-urban differences: "For example, half of those living in major cities said they 'strongly disapprove' of Trump's presidency," Kight reports, while "41% of rural respondents said they 'strongly approve.'"

But the poll also revealed that rural and urban values and worldviews are often similar, suggesting that it's possible to bridge the gap.

For example, 53% of urban respondents said they often feel like a stranger in their own country, compared to 55% of rural respondents. "The economy, health care and the environment were the three most important issues — in that order — regardless of where respondents lived. Kight reports. "Rural and urban respondents are equally likely to attend a religious service once a week — or to never attend. Rural areas, however, have a higher share who attend more than once a week."

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