While mainstream media -- in highly partisan fashion -- continues to beat their political tom-toms over Russia costing Hillary Rodham Clinton the presidency, a new analysis has uncovered one of many infinitely more credible reasons for Clinton’s loss.
Rust Belt study shows the thumping Clinton received
An analytical study published today in the Washington Post that was conducted by the labor market advisory firm Emsi and focused on Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana and Pennsylvania found that 437 counties in those six states picked Donald Trump over Clinton.
The reason is clearly economics, since those Rust Belt states most often vote for Democrats in presidential races. They all have a higher-than-average participation rate in blue-collar manufacturing, mining, and agricultural industries. These states are home to significantly more Democrats than Republicans, and some hadn't gone for a Republican in 16 years. Nevertheless, Trump carried their counties by an indisputable landslide, winning 437 out of 489 counties.
It was the economy
The President-elect’s pro-job message turned gaggles of Democrats into Republican voters in November, particularly in regions where blue-collar industries are concentrated. Manufacturing in 93 of the counties Trump won is about three times higher than the national average, this according to Josh Wright, one of the firm’s researchers in charge of the study.
Trump won all 93. Hindsight suggests Hillary Clinton should have inherently understood that in the Rust Belt, it's all about the economy. Some pundits say Clinton was distracted by her email scandals, others say she was out of touch, but month after month the Democrat failed to deliver a simple economic message. At the same time, Trump hammered his job creation message home at every turn, in nearly every campaign speech, and voters were listening.
"His message struck a chord with a lot of people in that region," Wright said. "There's a nostalgic sense of wanting to hold onto jobs that are hard to keep in the long term."
For his part, Trump campaigned on bringing back American jobs to six Rust Belt states that have watched jobs go to right-to-work states and foreign countries for many years.
Meanwhile, Clinton seemed to include many blue-collar workers in her infamous “deplorables” speech, many who were Democrats already leaning Republican. While Clinton was calling millions of Americans names, Trump kept promising more jobs, more jobs, and more jobs. According to Wright, post-election exit polls and interviews suggest his strategy was right on the money.
