MAGA's Midterm Defectors

About this episode

<p>Perhaps no American feels the domestic effects of the war, tariffs and inflation more than the Iowa farmer. The political environment stirred up by those farmers’ strife could allow the Democrats to seize the moment and elect one of theirs to the Senate or the governor’s mansion for the first time in 20 years — making Iowa potentially one of the most important states on the map this midterm cycle.</p><p>Today, we follow Caleb Renner, a young farmer in north central Iowa, as he shows the effects of the past two years on his community and talks about why those effects may lead him to turn on the Republican Party for the first time, and whether that will translate into support for Democrats.</p><p>Guest: Caleb Renner, a farmer in Klemme, Iowa.</p><p>Background reading:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Who’s winning <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/us/whos-winning-the-race-for-congress.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the race for Congress?</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/us/politics/trump-republicans-midterms-break.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">‘Survival Mode Time’</a>: Republicans accelerate their break with Trump.</li></ul><p>Photo: KC McGinnis for The New York Times</p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" rel="noopener noreferrer">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.&nbsp;</p> <p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p><p> </p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>