Why Rural Voters Dont Vote Democratic Anymore

[ericson00]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/11/23/how-republican-gerrymanders-forced-democrats-to-abandon-rural-america/

U.S. Rep. Collin C. Peterson of Minnesota is one of the last members of a dying breed: the rural conservative Democrat. He has represented Minnesota's 7th Congressional District for a quarter-century, since 1991. The district encompasses most of the western half of the state. It's farm country, a broad swath of fields and open prairie running from the South Dakota border all the way up to Canada.

The people Peterson represents are overwhelmingly white and moderately conservative. According to the Cook Political Report, Peterson was one of nine Democrats sent to Congress from a district that voted for Romney in 2012.

Most counties in Peterson's district swung hard toward Trump this year, by margins of 20, 30, 40 percentage points or more. But Peterson himself still earned 52.5 percent of the vote, enough to head to Congress for a 14th term.

[elleng]

1. 'In a conversation with The Washington Post,

Peterson said that Donald Trump owes his victory to rural voters who feel they've been abandoned by a Democratic Party that has become increasingly urban and liberal. That abandonment has happened in part because of Republican efforts to gerrymander Democratic voters into tightly packed urban districts, he said. Few Democratic lawmakers now represent rural districts such as Peterson's, where voters care more about agricultural policy and trade than they do about gun control, LGBT issues or questions about minority representation.

Unless Democrats are able to regain control of governorships and statehouses before the 2020 Census to “un-gerrymander” the districts, that dynamic's not likely to change, no matter what policy proposals Democrats put on the table. . .

There's no question that Trump got elected because of rural America. And our party still is in denial. They don't get it.'>>>

[Wellstone ruled]

10. So true,

spent decades selling in this District,seen the change and Collin was able to navigate his way through by staying in touch with the Local Mayors and County Commissioners who wheel the real power in Rural Districts.

You darn well better the price of Corn,Beans and Sugar if you want to succeed in this District. Don't act like a duck out of water.

[JHan]

2. They've also been priced out of city life..

so have many urbanites.

[BeyondGeography]

3. Gerrymandered for dysfunction

Well worth reading.

[NickB79]

4. Fears over gun control play a big roll in rural politics

Living in an exurb/rural area of Minnesota, it's something I heard almost every time a discussion of politics came up this year.

[yallerdawg]

5. Here's the two-fold problem.

Gerrymandering and cultural divide.

I don't know how you change that. There's hardly anybody left like me in the Democratic Party in Congress. These districts have been so gerrymandered that, in most of them, a Democrat can't win. Somebody like me trying to start off today, he'd never get endorsed. Because I'm too conservative.

So it's a problem. Pushing gun control drives people [in my district] crazy, gay marriage, abortion, deficit spending, you name it. All of that stuff adds up to be a problem for Democrats.

Happened in the South, and now we find out half the country is just as "conservative."

Just how Big a Tent do you need to attract progressive liberals and social/fiscal conservatives?

I don't know, but if history is any indication, some of us are going to end up wet.

[Tom Rinaldo]

6. Sanders has made progress on finding a winning formular

Bernie wins rural votes in Vermont, which is a largely rural state. If memory serves me right I believe he wins over 20% of the Republican vote in Vermont also along with most independents as well as his Democratic base. Vermont is not uniformly socially liberal. In most parts it is no different than New Hampshire. Bernie showed a similar pattern of appeal during the Democratic primaries. Bernie did well in the rust belt. He won almost all of the upstate NY counties, and he did well in Democratic primaries that allowed Independents to vote. Sanders wins rural votes while being clearly identified as a progressive for a simple reason. He convinces those voters that he is fighting for them and he walks the walk in addition to talking the talk. No one believes that Bernie is really aligned with the so called elites, neither culturally nor economically. Rural voters will accept some aspects of a candidate that they don't naturally relate to if they believe in their gut that that person will fight hard for them against those who rig the economy against them. Some of them backed Trump for nationalist and even racist reasons, but most simply were looking for a champion for them. An arrogant NYC Billionaire was not a natural match for many of them - but they backed him anyway because he trumpeted independence from the establishment and pledged being on their side.

[elleng]

12. Yes he did, Tom. Thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving.

'Sanders wins rural votes while being clearly identified as a progressive for a simple reason. He convinces those voters that he is fighting for them and he walks the walk in addition to talking the talk. No one believes that Bernie is really aligned with the so called elites, neither culturally nor economically.'

[Tom Rinaldo]

17. Happy Tbanksgiving to you too Ellen n/t

[yallerdawg]

14. If Sanders was the answer...

he should have won the primary.

He didn't. He wasn't.

[Tom Rinaldo]

16. Hillary did much better than Bernie with urban minorities and Blacks in general

Bernie lost the nomination because of the whooping he took in South Carolina and throughout the South on Super Tuesday. He was always running from behind and trying to prove that he was still viable after that. I'm taking away nothing from Hillary in saying this. The votes of the voters whose loyalty she won are worth the same as those of anyone else. They are Democratic base votes and they weren't enough in enough key states to win the electoral college for Hillary, but they were enough for her to win the nomination.

[HipHipHillary]

7. This is true..

I believe that when you think of farm country, you think of hard working people with strong family values.

The Rural dwelling people that I have spoke with all think their hard working tax dollars are being over spent on city programs that do not benefit them at all. This may or may not be true.

Can you blame them for feeling left out?

I was also told that it was the huge Amish community in Pennsylvania that pushed Trump over the top for the state win. Can anyone confirm this?

[treestar]

8. Why do they think the thrice divorced Orange Maniac

is anything but urban? And Elitist? He does not obey their family values. He lives in the big city in a gold plated monstrosity.

I do blame them for "feeling left out." They seem to have no sympathy for urban people who are "left out."

[Mariana]

13. Family values, right.

The enthusiastic support of Trump by "social conservatives", religious or otherwise, who always claim to be so concerned about "family values" makes it perfectly clear what unbelievable hypocrites they are.

At least now whenever one of them starts squawking about "family values", we can just ask them if they voted for Trump. When they say, "Yes, of course," we can point at them and laugh. We know without a doubt that their "family values" bullshit is just a lame excuse for their hateful opinions.

And you're right, the same is true of rural and small town voters who complain that rich educated city folks don't care about them or understand their issues, but who flocked to vote for Trump.

[Cosmocat]

19. Yep

nm

[davidn3600]

15. Because he was the only one talking to them

The type of policies and ideas that Democrats have been focusing on has appealed far more to urban voters. Some rural voters may even view these policies by Democrats as an attack on their way of life.

Gun control, for example, is probably the biggest rural-urban divisive issue out there. The rural areas have no belief in gun control. Rural areas also tend to resist many types of perceived government intrusion. They don't like that "big city liberals" are telling their schools what to teach and what not to teach. They support school choice and tend to be against things like Common Core.

Rural areas also tend to be more conservative by nature. They may be more laid back, more religious, more traditional compared to the busy and fast-paced life of a big city. They also tend to have less crime. And they have been hurt far more by the recession. Many manufacturing centers were set up in more rural towns. And these places were the primary employers in those areas. So when those industries moved overseas, many of these people lost good jobs and now fighting for work at Wal-Mart or other service jobs. These people blame free trade for this. This is a reason there was such an uprising against TPP. Regardless of whether TPP was good or bad, the fact is that these people simply no longer trust the government to negotiate these deals to benefit America's middle class....especially when such a deal is negotiated under strict secrecy involving only the most largest corporations.

Also, over the last decade or so, the Democrats seem to be obsessed in expanding the base among minority voters in the big urban centers. They are less concerned about white voters in the rural areas.

In the end, it all leads to a situation where these people become very vulnerable to nationalism and populism. That's why Trump appealed to them.

[Cosmocat]

18. Amish did not run out and register to vote this year

Because of the dolt, and they have been r voters all along.

[Bear Creek]

9. Problem

There are no good paying jobs. The financial crisis bailed out the banks and corporations. The consumer protection bill from the Bush Administration 30 +% interest rates. ATM charges. Salary's low wages more important than jobs. The Affordable Care Act was insurance bailout, universal health care was what was needed. Money to be able to go to college or get training to get a better job not there. The problem was caused by the republicans but the democrats did not do anything to help. The consumer protection bill should have been blocked. The people should have been bailed out and the CEO's and bankers put in jail. Democrats need to be more vocal say the truth and quit apologizing for saying it. Stand up to the bully. Say loud and clear what is wrong with the republican policies and do not give in. Democratic party is the party of family, of life, and equality say it loud. Show the republicans in their true form anti-families and pro-death.

[libtodeath]

11. Because they are stupid and have believed that government which the founders designed to help them

is their enemy.
All the while the rich keep screwing them.