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Romney and Obama compete for rural voters’ support

By Philip Elliott
Published June 15, 2012 7:36am ET
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Romney and Obama compete for rural voters’ support
FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2012, file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns at Harmon Tree Farm in Gilbert, S.C. Romney tells voters in small towns that he planted alfalfa on his uncle’s farm as a teenager. And President Barack Obama doesn’t hesitate to remind people in such far-flung places that his mother grew up in Kansas. So go the nostalgic pitches as each of the presidential candidates tries to connect with rural voters, and convince them that only he can jump start a struggling economy. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) | Charles Dharapak

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are trying to connect with rural voters, each out to convince those voters that only he can jump-start the economy.

Both campaigns expect Romney to win the majority of rural voters. But Obama’s team is trying to keep the margin as narrow as it was in 2008, when he lost rural voters by just 8 percentage points to John McCain.

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