Why are rural Georgians so much more likely to be conservative?

A lot of politics is about values.

In general, people who work for themselves or work for small family businesses tend to put more trust in themselves and those around them to direct resources.

Reliance on those close to you and not the government is line with the conservative political philosophy.

Further, if you live in a small town such as Hahira, Arlington, Reidsville, or Baxley, you are more likely to know the people around you. You are more likely to have trust and faith in your local community. This enhances the feeling of self-reliance, and lessens the perceived need to put faith in government.

If you live in a large city like Macon, Albany, Augusta, Atlanta everything is much more interconnected. Government becomes much more important. You see yourself as one of a large mass of people. You are more likely to be working for a large corporation. Because you see yourself as more interconnected, you're more likely to align with the political philosophy that is more about putting trust in a large institution to help mediate all these different ways in which this large group of people is interconnected. You're thus more likely to be inclined to vote with Democratic Party because it sees government as a mediator in this respect.

There is a perception by those in rural areas like for instance, say Ellaville that welfare and government spending that favors the poor happens in big cities and so does not benefit them. There is a perception in the rural community that Democrats do not value hard work and favor handouts. Democrats would counter that social safety nets are necessary. Regardless, in rural communities like Fitzgerald, Taliaferro, Lexington, issues like homelessness and the daily interaction with the effects of social safety nets are less visible.


In terms of smaller issues, rural Georgia (and America) is where coal, oil and gas can be found, and people near those resources depend on those industries for employment and so tend to have a different take on environmentalism and natural resources.

Beyond that people are more likely to hunt in rural areas and favor gun rights. They are also more likely to be religious and thus more likely to be pro-life.

Another point is that if you're LGBT, you probably won't find too many others who are LGBT in your small rural town, so you're more likely to move a big city. If you're LGBT, you're likely to care a lot about LGBT rights, and that may lead you to vote Democrat, all else being equal. This movement leaves those remaining in rural areas more conservative as they have lost members of their community that would otherwise be more liberal.

Some cities have a greater percentage of African American residents than the rest of the state does, an ethnic group that tends to vote Democrat. In rural areas, the percentages are often reversed, which increases the likelihood that a given rural area is more conservative.

Beyond a sense of interconnectedness, cities also have more people living in extreme poverty who are dependent on government services, a group that tends to vote Democrat. Because people in this predicament are less likely to be found in rural areas, they are comparably more conservative.

Further, young people often move to big cities after growing up in a small town or rural area. It can be a natural progression — especially if they go to college. Younger people tend to vote Democrat. The result is that rural areas can have fewer younger people who would otherwise vote Democrat and can be more conservative as a result of that. In turn, rural areas are much older, conservative and less diverse than a major metropolitan area.

2014: Carter, Beckum, Irvin and the Pursuit for Rural Georgia Vote

Jason Carter with supporters

Voters in rural areas of Georgia tend to be older than the electorate as a whole and they tend to be of more moderate means. Additionally, older voters tend to vote in higher numbers in midterm elections.

Democrats running this year in Georgia have to be very comfortable in talking about the values they share with other small town Georgia

residents. They have to be very comfortable in believing in God and that they go to church like everybody else does. Issues ranging from Social Security to medicaid to agriculture to economic fairness (which resonates in rural communities and put republicans on defense) are issues that are  well received in rural parts of the state.

 Chris Irvin at Vidalia Onion Festival, Toombs Co

Dems such as Ag Commissioner candidate Christopher Irvin (D-Toccoa), Secretary of State candidate Gerald Beckum (D-Oglethorpe) & Jason Carter, gubernatorial candidate for governor are such candidates that can appeal to these voters who tend to be independent-minded & conservative leaning. These three in particular can appeal to the what I called Zell Miller-Sam Nunn Democrats who have strayed away from the party in recent years.

These candidates in addition to Michelle Nunn who's running for the Senate have been criticized for reaching out to people who haven`t been voting for the Democrats in years, some people have criticized them for trying to broaden the base of the party. To liberals here in this state, broadening the base is how you win elections. Just ask Congressman John Barrow (D-Augusta) who have managed to win his last two re-election bids by broadening his base outside of his former home of Savannah and now Augusta.

Gerald Beckum with ex-State Rep.Robert Ray, Crawford Co

Bottom line: Georgia Liberal Democrats need to get past their interest-group politics and SUPPORT CANDIDATES who appeal to rural Georgians and their values...... well in another word, Georgians who values doesn't line up with the National Democrats and Obamacrats.  They don't understand that the real fault line is culture values. Left wingers often wonder why do working-class voters so often vote for the party (GOP) that pushes tax cuts for the wealthy? The short answer: Money isn't everything. Nothing connects quite like shared culture to persuade voters that, despite other appearances, you're really on their side.