Democrats Are Disappearing in Rural America. One Group Is Trying to Fix That $500 at a Time

[RandySF]

In an era of near-unlimited money in politics, a program offering rural county parties and organizations $500 every three months is changing the way Democrats compete in predominantly deep red areas.

In Mohave County, Ariz. – the fifth-largest county in America – the local party used the money to organize voters cut off from the rest of the county by the Grand Canyon. In Silver Bow County, Mont., Democrats bought a new banner for parades that “made people really excited.” And in Portage County, Wis., the self-admitted “old people” who run the county party learned how to use text messaging to turn people out and keep them engaged.

The thinking behind the program, named Contest Every Race and run by the progressive, data-focused organization Movement Labs, is simple: Rural county Democratic parties – many of which do not get nearly as much attention as their urban counterparts – are in areas that overwhelmingly back Republicans and usually raise only a few hundred dollars every year. Counties apply to participate and, if accepted, receive $500 per quarter and continual guidance on how to turn out, engage and inspire voters.

Data the group has collected show those small influxes of cash have a measurable effect. In the 2022 midterm elections, when 72 counties were in the program, two studies of the group’s work found a 3 percentage point boost in congressional vote share for Democrats.

County chairs involved with the program and operatives at Contest Every Race know the money and advice won’t turn a county that former President Donald Trump overwhelmingly won into a stronghold for President Joe Biden. But shrinking the margins that Republicans win by in rural America could have broader impacts as Democrats begin to rely more on urban and suburban voters. In federal elections, cutting these margins could mean winning a congressional district, a statewide position, or even an entire state in a presidential election.




https://themessenger.com/politics/democrats-are-disappearing-in-rural-america-one-group-is-trying-to-fix-that-500-at-a-time

[TheRealNorth]

1. Well, when you get run off the road or pelted with stones for being a Democrat....

....or are refused service for being LGBTQ or non-Christian, I can sympathize with Democrats for not wanting to be in rural areas, even if it makes all Democrats more vulnerable in case of a Civil War.

[Wednesdays]

4. If there ever is a Civil War, it won't be between Republicans and Democrats

It will be between Republicans and the U.S. Army. Guess which one I'm betting on winning.

[whathehell]

13. Amen..

That is my belief as well.

[KPN]

16. Must say, I have to wonder whether our military has

the commitment and will to actually do that based on their rather large “conservative” bias. Not to mention, if there were a Repug WH at the time.

[TheRealNorth]

19. +1

It's not like the military is somehow above the corrupt influences of the GOP. Put in enough MAGA sycophants, they won't have any qualms about gunning people down in the streets the next time a Republican orders them to.

[KPN]

20. Think Kent State.

[calimary]

21. There IS that.

There DEFINITELY is that.

[LiberalFighter]

2. National and state parties need to compile a list of tools

For local parties to consider using.

They need to get input from each group within the local party. Women, men, younger, older, minorities, tech savvy, not as tech, etc.

[appalachiablue]

22. +1

[Qutzupalotl]

3. This group is filling a need.

While the party has to conserve its resources and focus on winnable major races (a strategy I understand but disagree with), an outside group like CER can swoop in and move the needle a few points. In some cases, that's all we need for a victory. And win or lose, at least we don't appear to be running scared. We might even get our message out, instead of the misleading caricature of us the right promotes.

[Midnight Writer]

5. A modest amount of money and some professional advice can make a big difference in

rural elections.

That is how the Republicans took over many rural areas to begin with, by financing and advising candidates to run for County Boards, School Boards, Township offices and other local offices.

[usonian]

6. That's a grassroots or "ground up" strategy.

At first glance, it looked like one of those "pay you $500 to move here" schemes.

$500 in the styx goes a lot farther than $5000 in the city, IMO.

Numbers count, only when they materialize as votes.

turn out, engage and inspire



AND KICK ASS

[hurl]

7. Yes!

I love the idea. In my bright-red rural area, Republicans really run up the score so they can offset the urban vote. We're lucky to get 25% of the vote here, so anything we can do to keep them from diluting the urban vote as much is helpful.

[roamer65]

8. Thing is, most Democrats don't want to live in these rural areas.

There isn’t a lot of mental stimulation from interacting with MAGAts.

[NickB79]

14. That's not true at all

There are tens of millions of Democrats who value rural living. I'm one of them. Fresh air, wilderness, land to farm, lakes and rivers to fish, game to hunt in fall, the sense of community that small towns can provide. Up until 50 yr ago, Democrats were the backbone of the rural community in many states; the DFL here in Minnesota stands for Democrat Farm Labor, after all.

Writing off Rural America as the domain of MAGA jackoffs is the last thing we should do as a party.

[roamer65]

15. Not anymore.

My old hometown high school is half the enrollment it was 40 years ago and that area is much more GQP than it used to be.

America is becoming even more urban.

80.7 percent of Americans now live in urban areas.

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/urban-rural/ua-facts.html

[hurl]

17. Totally agree!

I love the rural life of quiet open spaces, and lack of traffic and crowds. Cities stress me out, more so as I get older. I don't want to be written off as lost to the GOP. Anything that helps amplify my voice in this politically hostile space is good.

[LAS14]

9. This looks like an answer to a post I haven't yet made.

A few weeks ago Tamara Keith on The Newshour practically jumped up and down in her chair reporting on how the DNC was working feverishly from the ground up to prepare for 2024. She said "the main office for Biden's campaign is even IN the DNC office space!"

It sounded pretty exciting to me, but I didn't hear any more about it until this thread.

[Bettie]

10. I'm going to suggest that we look into this at our next

county party meeting.

[BComplex]

11. This is GREAT news!! As a person in a rural county, I'm going to bookmark this and see if

the head of our county democratic party knows to apply for this!

This could make a big difference in our county in rural NC!

[hunter]

12. Rural America sucks. We shouldn't encourage it in any way.

The greatest fault of our political system is that rural votes count more than city votes.

Rural Republican voters are morons.

Mind you, this is my personal perspective, and no reflection of any Democratic Party platforms.

[mountain grammy]

18. Here's a link to their website

Contest every race... https://www.contesteveryrace.com/ There's a short video of Obama on the page.. that alone is worth the click.

I've donated occasionally, but will try to do it more often. We live in a rural, red county BUT we went for the Dem for our State Rep. First time in the 30 years I've lived here. He's a good guy, we worked hard to get him elected. We had a republican the first few years I lived here. He believed in unions and raising the minimum wage, so not a good republican, but I loved him! Since he lost a primary, we've had nothing but idiots but now, finally, we have a good rep again.
Also, the redneck idiots did elect an election denier as our county clerk and recorder, but she barely won. A Dem has never been competitive for that office. Now we have to keep watch over the nut.

Honestly, I can't wait to move back to the city.. 30 years of rednecks is enough.