Ken Larsen's web site - A problem for Democrats:  They've lost the rural vote

      

If you look at any map of recent elections, the urban areas tend to vote for Democrats, and the rural areas tend to vote for Republicans.  Why is this?  What can Democrats do to appeal to rural voters?  Democrats need to appeal to both rural and urban voters. 

 

"Why rural voters don't vote Democratic anymore" - Washington Post November 23, 2016

 

Here are the key reasons are:  

 

# Reason
1 Gerrymandering by Republicans  [Explanation and example ]
2 Rural areas care more about agricultural policy.  This has been neglected by Democrats.
3 Rural areas don't care about gun control.
4 Rural areas don't care about LBGTQ issues.
5 Rural areas don't care about minority representation.

 

 

Ken's recommendations:

 

  1. Democrats need to cease pursuing hugely expensive and dubious value projects that only serve urban areas.  An example that I'm most familiar with is the Durham-Orange County Light Rail project near my home.  [details]

  2. Democrats need to study the consequences of urban growth on rural areas.  Hurricane Florence caused huge flooding in the coastal rural areas of North Carolina.  I attribute upstream urban growth to be responsible for much of the flooding. 

 

 

Ken Larsen's home page