Exploring the Politics and Policy of the Great Plains

Abstract

Exploring the Politics and Policy of the Great Plains Joe Blankenau and Brian Hanson From romantic musings to boorish mockery, analyses of the United States' Great Plains are often simplistic for a region that defies easy explanation. One persistent misconception about the Great Plains is its lack of relevance to the rest of the country. In the political realm, this is simply false. As a result of the Great Compromise, which was essential to the creation of the US Constitution, each state has two senators regardless of population size, so Wyoming (pop. 577,719), South Dakota (pop. 887,770), and North Dakota (pop.779,702) each has the same amount of power in the Senate as does California (pop. 39,576,757) (US Census Bureau 2021). The 10 states that are partially, or entirely, located in the Great Plains, are home to 20 Senate seats that can, among other activities, determine the flow of legislation in Congress, shape what the judiciary will look like, and provide their imprint on how America will interact with other countries through treaties. In modern times, the Senate has very narrow margins, so every Senate seat has enormous influence on politics and policy. The region's political relevance is not just found in the Senate but also in the House of Representatives, which allocates seats based upon population size, giving the Great Plains states 68 seats. These seats matter, as the House of Representatives also often has close margins and has gone through three changes of party control in the 21st century. Voting for the presidency through the Electoral College also gives significant power to the Great Plains, as the region has 88 electoral votes granted in winner-take-all fashion to the winner of the popular vote in each state (except Nebraska, which allocates an Electoral College vote to the winner in each House district). People argue over the fairness of so much weight given to a relatively little-populated region, but the reality is that the rules of the game do give this weight, so the region is relevant and needs more attention from those who study politics and policy. Toward this end, this special edition contains articles on the politics and policy of the Great Plains along with the transcripts of an interview for the annual Warner Lecture sponsored by the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The works here provide a unique contribution to our understanding of the interplay between culture, politics, and government in the Great Plains. They provide us with a deeper understanding of what defines this region on key issues such as COVID-19, changing demographics, guns, religion, language, health care, and education. We learn much about how people think about and act on these issues, and in the process we can garner significant insight into how these issues play out not only in the Great Plains but also in the country writ large. The edition begins with a transcript from the 2020 Warner Lecture that reveals insights about education in the Great Plains from two experienced and thoughtful school superintendents regarding their experience facing challenges and opportunities in areas such as diversity, the COVID-19 pandemic, changing demographics, and more. The work of educators in the Great Plains is laying the foundation for the future of life here, and their conversation could not be more relevant in revealing the dynamics of this process. Next is an examination of COVID-19 responses in Nebraska and Kansas. Middlewood and Joslyn show how social capital affected community responses, finding that Nebraska and Kansas counties with greater social capital performed better on social distancing, a key strategy to mitigate the pandemic. The history of the Great Plains is one of change, and Rodriguez adeptly describes how Latinos are increasingly becoming an [End Page ix] important part of the political landscape of Kansas. Rodriguez points out that Latinos make up 12% of the population in Kansas, a fact that has clearly played a role in recent elections. Middlewood illustrates how rural Great Plains gun owners are politically influential on gun policy, especially with the region's skewed representation in national political institutions. Gun ownership has a greater effect on political participation in rural...