It's Put Up Or Shut Up Time! Will Georgia Democrats Compete in Rural Areas, for Rural Legislative Seats in 2022?

I've always said that a Democratic vote in rural Mitchell, Marion, or Ware County counts just as much as a vote in suburban Cobb County. It’s important for Democrats to take stock of their efforts to turn out rural voters in the same way they assess their tactics in other areas of the Peach State. The party was successful last year because candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock expanded the map beyond the Metro Atlanta area and didn't take any votes for granted. Last year Democrats made significant inroads in small towns and rural areas down in central and south Georgia, and it’s crucial they keep up that effort going into the 2022 midterm elections.

Democrats have to stay competitive in rural areas of the state and that starts with recruiting a legitimate, strong candidate to take on incumbents like Austin Scott in GA-8, Buddy Carter in GA-1, Drew Ferguson in GA-3 as well as candidates for the state legislature. It’s clear that suburban and urban voters were a major driver of our victories, but they can’t forgo small towns and rural counties. If Democrats want to get things done in Atlanta and at the local level and mount a strong challenge for control of the Georgia General Assembly next year, they have to win outside of the suburbs.

Democrats can win these communities by showing up and passing policies that directly benefit rural Georgians. That’s why newly elected Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff spent the final week of his campaign on a tour through Southwest and Central Georgia. Popular Democratic priorities like Medicaid expansion, which helps fund rural hospitals and extending broadband infrastructure see some of their biggest benefits in rural communities, and it’s important that they keep working hard to support these policies.

It will be tempting for democrats to look at the results of last year’s elections and conclude that Democrats here need only win votes in suburban and urban areas to be successful. That would be a mistake. As the party has grown stronger over the past few years, they've expanded their presence across the Peach State. 

There have been a lot of great candidates that did not make it to the Gold Dome and me over the years like Marc Arnett of HD 138

Marc Arnett

who came up short of unseating Mike Cheokas, or Jack Lance who ran back in 2010 for HD 8 along with the endorsement of late Governor Zell Miller but I would not consider those campaigns to be losses. It will take time to flip some of these rural areas.

Jack Lance with Zell Miller

Democrats can absolutely be competitive in rural Georgia. They just have to get back to basics, and that will start with real conversations about community issues. I am a big advocate for localized messaging and community-based organizing. Democrats love to hire people who are out of state and expect them to know how to communicate in their new turf. That doesn’t work, especially not in rural Georgia. Rural Georgians can smell an out-of-towner from miles away. They need people who live there to have these conversations. Local people are experts in their communities and should be the ones to drive the conversation.

There are some people that will not be receptive to having a conversation because they disagree on wedge issues, and that’s fine. We are all entitled to our opinions. We all have limited time and resources. It is a much better use of time to talk with someone who is willing to have a productive conversation than someone who is committed to arguing.