“From diesel to fertilizer prices”—Discontent with Trump’s policies grows among Iowa farmers

【Sioux City—Lee Byung-chul, Special Correspondent】 On the 22nd (local time), at the Morningside University campus in Sioux City, Iowa, a red sign reading “VOTE HERE” (“Vote here”) caught the eye amid the tranquil university scene, where students walked among trees awash in autumn colors. A notice identifying the early-voting site was posted at the entrance to the student union, and rows of white voting booths decorated with the U.S. flag had been set up inside the building.
There was no long line outside the polling place, but voters continued to arrive. Coming in ones and twos, they cast their ballots. Although the polling place was on a university campus, middle-aged voters as well as students stood out. The early-voting site inside the Woodbury County Courthouse, visited the previous day, the 21st, had a similar atmosphere.
The election buzz was also evident in residential neighborhoods. Campaign signs bearing candidates’ names were planted across lawns in the neighborhood near Morningside University. In front of one home, signs for candidates including Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand, as well as candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and the state legislature, stood side by side. Few campaign workers or residents were visible on the street, but the signs in front of homes showed that the midterm elections were approaching.■ “You can tell just by looking at gas prices” ... High fuel costs shake public sentimentOne of the biggest economic burdens felt by Sioux City residents is the cost of fuel. Morningside University student Osway Carrasco, 19, said, “Gasoline is really expensive. I have to drive a lot to commute to school, and the cost of gas is a burden.” He also said that rising grocery prices had added to the cost of living.
An anonymous older voter whom we met in Sioux City also said, “You can tell just by looking at gas prices. Every time I fill up my car, I feel that things aren’t going well.”
Trenton Haptonstall, 21, an engineer at a local radio station, noted, “Prices for all kinds of things have gone up because of tariffs and gasoline prices.” He said he was transgender and identified individual rights, alongside economic issues, as a key concern. Haptonstall criticized Republicans, saying, “The most important thing in this election is the right to live the way I want,” and “Republicans treat transgender people like second-class citizens.” He added, “The Democrats aren’t doing well enough on transgender rights either, but they’re better than the Republicans,” and said, “I hope Iowa moves back toward the Democrats.”■ Diesel prices surge 72% ... Election landscape shifts in Republican strongholdsOil prices, which have soared since the war with Iran, are dealing a direct blow to agricultural areas in the Midwest. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average U.S. price of regular gasoline, which was $2.98 per gallon on February 28, just before the war broke out, had risen to $4.28 by the 20th of this month, an increase of about 44%. Over the same period, diesel prices surged about 72%, from $3.67 to $6.32.
In Iowa, a major producer of corn and soybeans, diesel is an essential operating cost for running heavy farm machinery such as tractors and combine harvesters. With farm machinery in heavy use and grain transportation intensifying during the fall harvest season, rising diesel and fertilizer prices, compounded by export uncertainty stemming from the Trump administration’s tariff policies, are squeezing farm profitability.
Economic pressures have also emerged as a factor in the electoral landscape of the Midwest, a traditional Republican stronghold. Iowa voted for Democratic former President Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, but has backed President Trump in all three elections since 2016. Trump won the 2024 presidential election by about 13 percentage points. Kansas has consistently voted for Republican presidential candidates since 1964 and has not elected a Democratic U.S. senator since 1932. Nebraska is also a Republican-leaning state where no Democratic candidate has won a Senate race in 20 years, since former Democratic senator Ben Nelson was reelected in 2006.
However, the Senate races in all three states are now close. In the latest average compiled by polling aggregator RealClearPolitics (RCP), Iowa Republican candidate Ashley Hinson had 46.1% and Democratic candidate Josh Turek had 45.5%, a gap of just 0.6 percentage points. In a Cook Political Report poll conducted from the 9th to the 13th, Turek led Hinson, 46% to 44%.
In Kansas, the gap between Republican incumbent Roger Marshall (46.0%) and Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton (45.7%) was just 0.3 percentage points. In Nebraska, Republican incumbent Pete Ricketts (47.7%) and independent candidate Dan Osborn (46.0%) were separated by 1.7 percentage points. The Nebraska figures are the polling average from Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) as of the 24th.■ Discontent over high prices, but will they vote? ... Young people’s political apathyHowever, discontent over high prices did not necessarily translate into voting. Some young people we met while reporting appeared uninterested in politics, while older people seemed weary of the mutual attacks among politicians.
While expressing frustration with rising gasoline and grocery prices, Carrasco said he was unlikely to vote in this midterm election. He said, “If I knew a bit more about politics, I’d vote, but I haven’t paid much attention to it so far.” Another male student we met at the same university also said he did not intend to vote.
Moses, 26, a truck driver we met in Sioux City, also said he would not vote in this election, saying, “I’m not interested in politics.”
By contrast, older people who had voted criticized election ads. Two 71-year-old retirees we met at the early-voting site inside the Woodbury County Courthouse on the 21st said emphatically, “Election ads just tear each other down. A lot of what they say isn’t true.” They added, “They should stop that nonsense and say what they’ll do if elected.”
On gasoline prices, too, they were cautious about blaming any particular party, saying, “Gas prices go up and down regardless of which party is in power.”

[email protected] Special Correspondent Lee Byung-chul Reporter