Trump’s policies are hammering farmers — and putting rural America in play for Democrats

Democrats are mounting real challenges in farm country for the first time in roughly twenty years, with competitive Senate contests in Iowa and Kansas and several heavily rural House races that could help the party take back Congress. MS NOW attributes the shift to President Donald Trump's tariffs and his war with Iran, which have strained agriculture.

USDA analysts project farm net income will drop 5. 5% this year, and the National Agricultural Law Center counted 45% more farm bankruptcies last year, with another 11% increase expected in 2026. Tariffs of up to 50% on items such as plows, barbed wire, irrigation equipment and harvesters have raised what farmers pay. Tariffs on tin cans preceded the closure of a Del Monte cannery in Modesta, California, costing 600 jobs. Retaliation abroad hurt exports: sales to China fell 66% in 2025, and soybean shipments dropped from $12. 6 billion to $3. 0 billion. The Iran conflict interrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting fertilizer prices 20% and pushing diesel to $6. 32 per gallon. Inflation has kept interest rates high, and the $12 billion in emergency aid has not stopped the losses.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →