Fresh analysis of 2020 votes shows Trump got a bigger slice of rural votes than exit polls had shown

A detailed analysis of votes in the 2020 election gives a more accurate picture than exit polls of the Republican party's increasing rural popularity, writes William Galston of the Brookings Institution.

The Pew Research Center analyzed a huge sample of "validated" voters, or those whose participation has been independently verified. According to those numbers, President Trump was favored by 65 percent of rural voters, up from 59% in 2016—a larger bump than the 62 percent found in exit polls.

Other findings with rural resonance:

• Rural voters were less likely than their suburban or urban counterparts to have voted absentee or by mail ballot.
• The political split between rural areas and suburban and urban areas remained substantial in 2020, especially among white voters. Trump got 71% of the vote from rural white voters, compared to 62% in 2016.
• Overall, Biden voters were younger, more racially and ethnically diverse, and less likely to live in rural areas than Trump voters.