ERIE (AFP): Rural voters helped propel Donald Trump to a resounding victory, providing a boost as he outperformed pollster predictions and his past performances at the ballot box.
Painting a picture of a neglected US heartland overlooked by urban elites, Trump's campaign placed rural Americans at the heart of its divisive effort to whip up support.
In the northwestern tip of Pennsylvania, Erie County has boomeranged between Democrat and Republican candidates in the last three elections and went firmly for Trump this year.
Trump's support among rural voters dipped between his win in 2016 and his 2020 defeat, but it rebounded handily with the Republican securing 63% of votes cast by the group nationally, according to a CNN exit poll.
The chair of the Erie County Republican Party in swing state Pennsylvania told AFP that rural voters were motivated by economic issues -- specifically the cost of gas and grocery price inflation -- to vote for Trump.
"If anybody votes for Trump I think it's because of the economy," Tom Eddy said as the scale of Trump's victory became apparent, adding that only those who had a grievance with Trump voted for Harris.
He said turnout in one precinct was almost 90%, while in another Republican votes outnumbered Democratic by three to one.
Erie, a boomerang county which opted for Barack Obama in 2010, Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020, this year went for Trump again by almost 2,000 votes.
"I was surprised by the breadth of the (Republican) margins across the swing states," said Kyle Kopko, an adjunct politics professor at Elizabethtown College, noting each side ran "drastically different" campaigns.
Kopko warned that even though Trump campaigned on the economy in rural areas, where economic shocks can be more keenly felt, "there is no magic bullet."
Dylan Robuck, 28, who works at a McDonald's restaurant in Erie said "I'm happy for him. I think it's gonna make it better for everybody."
"I'm pretty excited about the taxes. That was a big thing he talked about," he added, referring to Trump's tax cut proposals.
As well as rural voters, Trump cleaned up among Latino men and first-time voters, according to US media analysis.
Despite polls indicating the result would be a nail-biter, Trump was on course to win the popular vote as well as the electoral college, and may end up sweeping all seven swing states.
'Trump's the man'
Trump's campaign, which observers have credited with being far more professional than his first two, saw him crisscross rural corners of the seven swing states where he vied with Harris to woo voters.
He repeatedly returned to rural Pennsylvania, with its 19 electoral college votes -- more than any other swing state -- campaigning in Erie in a rally at the end of September.
He also stumped in the town in July 2023, highlighting the importance of the bellwether county.
"Trump's the man. He gets it done," said Erie County voter Zachary Rindfuss, a scrap metal merchant.
"I was happy with him when he was in before, and then he lost the second election. I think I've seen America really make a downfall, and I'm glad he's back in," added Rindfuss, 29.
Gillian Kratzer, chair of the PA Dems' rural caucus who spearheaded her party's efforts to reach voters in rural Pennsylvania said many people in non-urban communities would "cover their vote with the economy -- but the facts do not back that up.
"I think honestly, unfortunately racism and misogyny and homophobia played a very huge part."
Kratzer said that despite Harris's poor showing in rural areas, it was important for the party not to back off and retreat to the cities.
In this election, Harris's campaign sought to target 500,000 likely rural voters with a 30-second radio ad aired on 130 rural Pennsylvania radio stations from September.
She also pledged to significantly expand rural healthcare.
But that, and the selection of a rural-based running mate in Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, was not enough to convince rural America.
"As a party, we have to invest in rural areas every year," said Kratzer.
"This has to be a longer term, more incremental change."
