Because they run weak candidates who simply do not align with the culture, values, hopes, aspirations, concerns and worries of rural folks. The messaging and policies for urban and suburban areas are not tailored to rural communities. Democrats simply dismiss those people as politically expedient at best, or a lost cause at worst. Now if you go back to the 2020 election and 2021 runoffs, both Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock put in a lot of time and effort in rural Georgia, especially the black belt areas/ That effort was critical in both winning their races in which gave Georgia two Democratic Senators for the first time since 1986.
At this point in time, there is very little evidence that the Democratic establishment understands these failures. Politicos endorsing fellow politicos, party elites tipping the scales, political hacks who are ahead of their time, none of this mess works for rural Georgians. The Dems failure to appeal to rural voters has consequences. One, extreme polarization, caused by partisan gerrymandering and the huge urban-rural divide.
Working class, rural communities in Southwest, central and eastern Georgia are marginalized due to the consolidation of economic and political power inside I-285. Georgia needs the Democrats to be competitive in rural communities, just like we need republicans to be competitive in big cities/ Let me tell you what rural folks want...they want to be valued and heard on their own terms, they want their children to have opportunities at home, etc. Democrats can deliver economic opportunities, but it will require Democrats competing in local elections by charting an independent path forward.
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