Quote from The Answer:
Rural, white farming areas in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin have a long history of left wing advocacy. In the 1930's there were all kinds of political parties like the Socialist Farmers etc.
That is true. In MN, the Democratic party is called the DFL, the F standing for Farm.
But now, the parts of the country that are most dependent on agriculture and on the land are conservative and usually Republican. The urban areas tend to run liberal and are usually Democratic.
Even states that tend to vote for the Democrats as a whole have pockets of conservatism in rural areas. Iowa has Steve King, and Minnesota has Michelle Bachmann.
As for Bachmann, I am curious to see if her family is now going to reject any agricultural welfare from the federal government.