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How Democrats are making a mistake in rural America – by not showing up.
(theconversation.com)
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this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2024
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That might generally be true but where I live near Raleigh,NC, which is one of the most educated places in America likely due to so many colleges and universities right here, we move away from the more urban areas to the generally more rural areas because it’s way cheaper and the commute isn’t terrible. It wouldn’t hurt to at least try in some of the rural areas around Raleigh like Garner, Clayton, Holly Springs, hell even Fuquay Varina (yes that’s a really town unfortunately… you can probably guess some nicknames for it. This state could be very purple pretty quickly.
This is not the kind of rural area he is talking about.
Yes. Aren't exceptions great?
I am not familiar enough with the Raleigh area to know if those are actually rural areas or if they are just suburbs (you should listen to how New Yorkers describe Jersey...).
But a lot of that is the same logic as "Oh, all those California liberals are moving to Texas because it is cheap so that will be a blue state within the year". And as anyone who has experience with Austin beyond "Keep Austin Weird" marketing can tell you: A Texas Democrat is still a VERY moderate-conservative person. Well, more specifically, a Texas Democrat with any mobility (which is why it is still so important for republicans to gerrymander the hell out of those cities). And people tend to not move toward hellscapes where they strongly disagree with all local politics.
That said, there are ongoing efforts. But it again boils down toward where it is worth spending money. Especially when turning a county blue mostly means a DINO.
I should take some pics of where I live. Yeah it’s pretty rural. Outside of wake county it becomes like a different state. I mean it’s shocking how much difference 30 miles can make. I’m very surprised there isn’t more political unrest here given the mixing of very different ideologies in a small area.
But you’re absolutely right, it’s always about spending your campaign dollars wisely. And no amount of Trump propaganda is ever going to change my mind. So let the Rs waste money on me.
The problem in NC might be atypical, though. State office pays $13,951 per year, and I'm not sure if that's comparable to other states but it damn sure isn't enough to entice anyone who isn't already independently wealthy (and who can take 6 months off per year and not lose their job).
To be sure, the NC Democratic Party is utter dogshit at recruiting new talent, but they're also fighting a seriously uphill battle in trying to find people who are willing to make literally below poverty level just to serve.
Yeah. Not familiar with the NC mess. But getting good candidates to go to places like Florida just aren't going to happen. Because fixing the hellscape is important but... nobody wants to live in the hellscape unless they have no choice.
Its an open secret so I don't mind sharing it but when a county does something like "We need to attract more OBGYNs to the local hospital" and the like? Part of that is very much fulfilling a need of the community. The other part is getting strong candidates (either the doctor or their partner) with the intent of running them in a year or two for a local office. And because of the general high degree of education required, it is a good way for Democrats to bus in some people as it were.