We’ve heard a lot of talk about how the Rust Belt helped Donald Trump win the presidency. But ,as The Hill reports, it appears the Corn Belt may have been an even bigger help to the new president than their more industrial counterparts.
While it’s certainly true that voters in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan helped deliver the White House to the New York billionaire, a new study of electoral maps reveals that a large number of counties that flipped from voting Obama in 2008 and 2012, and went for Trump this year, have little interest in steel or coal. Instead, many of these counties are predominantly agricultural in nature. And more specifically, the economies of many of these counties are driven by corn farming and ethanol production.
Of the 218 counties that flipped blue to red, 133 produced more than 1 million bushels of corn last year. That means grain production and related industries were a big part of Trump’s victory, and ag experts are hoping the new president returns the favor.
However, Trumps slowness in choosing a Secretary of Agriculturehas caused some agribusiness executives to worry they’ll be an afterthought, despite their role in Trump’s victory.