6 minPolitics
Trump Heads to Kansas as Farmers' Tariff and Diesel Frustrations Threaten GOP Enthusiasm
President Trump is visiting Kansas and Iowa to rally voters before the midterms, but rising diesel prices, tariff fallout and immigration raids are dampening enthusiasm among traditionally Republican farmers and rural voters.
President Donald Trump is traveling to Kansas on Monday and to Iowa later in the week to energize his base in the final stretch before the midterm elections, but the visits come as economic strains in farm country are testing Republican dominance in states the party has long controlled.
In Kansas, fifth-generation farmer Glenn Brunkow describes this time of year as «go time,» when farmers combine fields, haul crops to town and move livestock from summer pastures to winter homes. This harvest season, they are doing it with diesel prices more than $2.50 per gallon higher than a year ago, adding to pressures from rising costs, unpredictable markets and shrinking profits.
«It seems like it’s coming at us from all directions,» said Brunkow, president of the Kansas Farm Bureau. Diesel averaged $6.30 per gallon nationwide on Friday, more than 70% higher than a year ago, according to AAA. The surge has been especially painful during harvest, when farmers depend heavily on fuel to operate machinery and transport crops.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects net farm income will decline by 2.6% this year as production expenses rise by 4.5%. Fuel and oil expenses alone are expected to jump nearly 30%, according to the agency’s September forecast. The Trump administration has tried to ease the burden: earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order to ease limits on the tax-free use of red-dyed diesel, a move he said would save «millions» for farmers. That followed a $12 billion aid package announced in December. But those efforts have not erased frustrations among farmers who expected their financial outlook to improve under Trump.
Brunkow, whose organization endorsed Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, said he has been asked many times whether economic frustrations could drive Republican farmers to vote for Democrats. «I don’t think it necessarily does that,» he said. «But I think it dampens the enthusiasm for agriculture producers to get to the polls.»
The anxiety may be especially notable in Kansas, a state Trump won by 16 percentage points in 2024, as Marshall faces a tough challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton. Democrats have not won a Senate election in Kansas in 94 years. Republicans are pouring money into Senate races in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa amid concerns about voter enthusiasm.
Don Hineman, a western Kansas rancher and former Republican state House majority leader, said he is seeing growing frustration among GOP voters beyond farmers, including some who have supported Trump in multiple elections. He said farmers understand that Trump’s tariffs have hurt their businesses and are upset over the ongoing war with Iran. Immigration has also become a source of concern, particularly after recent raids in western Kansas that resulted in the detention of more than 100 people.
«We need a secure border — we can all agree on that,» Hineman said. «But we also need workable immigration policy that provides the workforce that the United States has always depended on and will always continue to need.» He said the traditional Republican argument in Kansas — that electing Democrats would empower the party’s liberal wing — is losing effectiveness with some voters, including himself. «I am tired of being persuaded by charges that the boogeyman is going to get us,» he said. «I am so fed up with the Republican Party and their willingness to play sycophant to our current commander in chief that I’m willing to consider alternatives.»
Debbie Geneva, 61, of Nortonville, Kansas, said she was impressed by Hamilton after he visited a local market to meet people, something she has not seen Marshall do. She has never voted for a Democrat, she said, but remains undecided about the Senate race. «I’ve never voted for a Democrat in my entire life, so that’s a little scary for me to be undecided,» Geneva said. «I told one of my friends that, and they can’t believe it, but that’s just the way I feel right now.» Geneva said rising costs for healthcare and everyday expenses have added to her frustrations. «And then of course the trade agreements,» she added. «The Republicans haven’t done the Midwest any favors with that.»
Trump will travel to Iowa on Thursday, where Republicans are defending competitive races for governor and Senate. The state, which Trump has carried in three consecutive presidential elections, is another agricultural stronghold where economic frustrations have become part of the political debate. In Nebraska, Senate Republicans have poured nearly $15 million into a race between GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts and independent candidate Dan Osborn, an unprecedented amount for a state Trump won by 20 percentage points in 2024.
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