As the eco­nom­ics of con­sol­i­da­tion hol­lowed out small towns, rur­al folks began to feel some of the same resent­ment and sense of aban­don­ment that was so wide­spread in the Rust Belt. Lost jobs, lost busi­ness­es, lost hope. Wis­con­sin and many neigh­bor­ing states had always been solid­ly Demo­c­ra­t­ic, but Repub­li­cans now tapped into this grow­ing sense of aban­don­ment, direct­ing their mes­sage at what they called ​“the for­got­ten men and women of Amer­i­ca,” promis­ing to oppose the ​“coastal elites” and give rur­al folks their fair share