10/30/08 Big rural voter turned expected

Well, it's almost here; Election Day. There will be the final flurry of campaigning but next Tuesday Americans do the talking by picking our President. But there's a lot more to this election than McCain vs. Obama. MASLYN "There are in addition to the presidency the entire House of Representatives, a third of the Senate, and many state legislatures and governors races are in play so its going to be a big turnout year by all accounts particularly in rural America." American Farm Bureau's Mark Maslyn says the rural vote is very important given that 20 percent of the US population is classified as rural. Secondly, look at the states where the battle for electoral votes is very tight. MASLYN "Most of the toss up states tend to be states with large rural populations." While rural Americans tend to vote for conservative candidates Maslyn says they're just like their urban cousins, they're split between Obama and McCain. MASLYN "The issues tend to cut across party lines. If you look at Senator Obama's issues and positions on taxes, on trade, there's some concerns there. If you look at Senator McCain's positions of energy there are some concerns there as well. Certainly overarching most this is the economic crisis that we're confronted with." Needless to say, your vote does count next Tuesday for every one of the races or issues on the election ballot. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott