Democrats don’t get elected in places like ruby red Atkinson County for example. It’s important to show that yes democrats are there, they are present, and they ain’t scared of no one. It's time to start chipping away at that red wall in rural Georgia that’s holding them back right now. As they begin their 2024, and then 2026 campaigns for state offices from governor to Labor Commissioner, Democrats know they can count on support in Georgia's fast-growing cities. They see increasing their share of votes in rural counties, which have long titled heavily Republican going back to the early 2000s, as a key part of their strategy to win statewide office for the first time in two decades.
Yeah I know places like Dodge County ain’t gonna turn blue any time soon, but if they can even get their Democratic base out 5 more percent and this is true for every rural county, if rural counties went 5 more percent towards any Democrat running for office, that’s really gonna help out, and that’s what’s going to push us over the edge, say in 2026.
Statewide leaders here in Georgia, both parties, tend to focus only on five or six big counties because you do the math and you think that’s where all the votes are. But I just don’t think that’s right.
We all know how big of a state Georgia is, and I know there was no question that running more than once was absolutely essential to success, however courting rural voters is not something the state Democratic Party has embraced in the past decade.
There’s a big difference between losing a rural county 70-30 and losing it 55-45, and that’s completely acceptable. But you just can’t keep getting creamed in the rural counties and expect you’re going to win anything statewide. They’re going to have to put a lot more energy and time into figuring out how to talk to those voters in such a way they can hear them.
One thing Democrats need to realize....There’s a pretty good bullsh** detector out in the rural areas and they’ll see through that if you’re not genuine to yourself. Just putting on your cowboy boots and coming out here once or twice is not going to get you the kind of votes you need. The thing I think that makes the difference is it’s not just showing up at campaign time; it’s showing up year after year after year and maintaining those relationships.
