MAGA's Midterm Defectors

Perhaps no American feels the domestic effects of the war, tariffs and inflation more than the Iowa farmer. The political environment stirred up by those farmers’ strife could allow the Democrats to seize the moment and elect one of theirs to the Senate or the governor’s mansion for the first time in 20 years — making Iowa potentially one of the most important states on the map this midterm cycle.

Today, we follow Caleb Renner, a young farmer in north central Iowa, as he shows the effects of the past two years on his community and talks about why those effects may lead him to turn on the Republican Party for the first time, and whether that will translate into support for Democrats.

Guest: Caleb Renner, a farmer in Klemme, Iowa.

Background reading: 

• Who’s winning the race for Congress?
• ‘Survival Mode Time’: Republicans accelerate their break with Trump.

Photo: KC McGinnis for The New York Times

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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