Good Thursday evening. Happy December. This is Daniel Allott with The Hill's Top Opinions.
Among the divides that dominate American politics, perhaps the most important is the urban-rural divide. Over the last few election cycles, that divide – in which urban voters increasingly voted for Democrats and rural voters for Republicans – deepened.
But reviewing some analyses of the 2022 midterm elections, author and editor WILLIAM S. BECKER finds some evidence that "Democrats can build a more substantial base in rural America before 2024."
"All they have to do," writes Becker, "is think differently, talk differently and act differently."
They can learn much by watching and listening to the many successful Democrats in states with substantial rural populations — states such as Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia and Colorado. These just happen to be among the battleground states that will help determine the 2024 election.
Citing other sources, Becker notes that rural working-class voters feel left behind by the modern economy, disdained by liberal political elites and looked down upon by liberal cultural leaders. And Democratic candidates have often seemed indifferent to their plight and concerns.
How can Democrats start to make headway in rural America? It comes down to listening more, talking less, showing respect and focusing much more on achieving results for local communities than on one-size-fits-all national remedies.
In some ways, says Becker, the urban-rural divide is more cultural than political. But he thinks it's still an open question "whether Democrats who think differently, talk differently and act differently in rural America can build a bridge far beyond politics."
Read Becker's entire op-ed here.
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