Institutional knowledge and perceived rural representation

Abstract

Place-based identities could potentially shape how the public evaluates political information, especially when cleavages between rural and non-rural become more central to politics. Rural voters may particularly respond distinctly to knowledge about the United States political system, which through several political institutions, notably the federal Senate, gives rural areas a share of votes exceeding their share of the population. Observational survey responses from the 2020 American National Election Study show that although most respondents feel that government institutions give less political influence to rural areas, knowledge about American politics reduces that feeling. The relationship between this knowledge and beliefs about rural political influence, however, occurs only in those with suburban and, especially, urban identities; rural and small-town identifiers seemingly shrug off their knowledge in assessing rural political influence.