Filling an Empty Jar

Rural Organizing

I was in Moberly, Missouri several months ago to speak to a group of rural Democrats. Moberly is about 3.5 hours away from home, so I arrived not long before the event, but I could tell it was going to be a packed house by the cars in the parking lot.

I also knew I was in the right place because I saw bumper stickers on the cars in the parking lot that said things like, “Voting matters” and “Democracy dies in darkness.”

I found a seat at the front and introduced myself to some of the folks…two women who sat behind me asked for a selfie and then talked about Josh Hawley — a person Missourians love to hate. As I talked with them about the infamous Senator, I saw a man waiting patiently to speak to me. He has something in his hand and a smile on his face.

He introduced himself and asked if I would accept a jar of homemade jam from his farm outside Moberly. Well, yeah I accept food, and especially jam that I can use for my daughter’s PB&J lunches. It was a strawberry/blueberry blend with fruit he grows on his farm.

Months later, that jar is empty and now living life on my windowsill full of pothos cuttings with his farm label still affixed.

A rural Democratic meeting, Moberly, Missouri. February 26, 2026.

The man from Moberly came over to talk to me about his utility bill — specifically his light bill. He told me his bill had jumped $120 in the last few months to nearly $500 per month. I was sympathetic as I listened. I hear this everywhere I go in the state.

And the AI data centers proposed all over the state are only going to make things worse.

I have been hearing about soaring rates for electricity and gas since I started traveling around the state, but it has picked up in the last year or so. The fact that so many folks are struggling with the basics is telling when a large part of the audiences I speak to are retired or nearly retired people.

I have heard from these folks as the parents of adult children. They were finally able to start saving for their retirement, only to find out that they would instead be sending money to their adult children, who can’t make ends meet with grocery prices and gas prices and childcare prices while making stagnant wages.

These are adult children who did everything right…they got their education, but they inherited a nightmarish economy and live under a regime that is as arrogant as it is incompetent.

A sign created by the Linn County Democrats.

I spoke at an event in Milan, Missouri a week back. Milan is a tiny town in north central Missouri — the event drew about 70 people, which is a big deal when you consider they haven’t been meeting regularly since 2018. They recently started their county club and central committee as a reaction to renewed interest in the party in the local area.

While at the event, I heard a candidate relay a story to the crowd. The Congressional candidate spoke with a woman from a town south of Milan — Mexico, Missouri. The woman’s dad lived about three blocks from the rural hospital that was shuttered in March, 2022.

About 19 of Missouri's 57 rural hospitals are at risk of closing due to financial problems. Many of these problems were exacerbated by the Missouri GOP’s failure to pass Medicaid Expansion.

The woman said her dad suffered a massive heart attack at his home. While only three blocks from the former hospital, paramedics were forced to take him to a hospital 45 minutes away. Her dad did not make it. She said while she couldn’t say for sure that the hospital in Mexico could have saved him if it weren’t closed, she couldn’t help but think he would have had a better chance.

My god. The systems are failing, and the only thing holding this mess together is us. No one is coming to save us…this is on us.

A Democratic meeting in Farmington, MO.

And this is where I tell you the good news…at each of the events I have attended and spoken, I am surrounded by candidates running to step up for their communities. At every rally and stop, I meet someone who had just had enough and decided if no one else could or would run, they would do it.

I met Bekki, who is a grandmother running to fund Missouri public schools.

I met Casey, who is an MRI technologist from rural Missouri running because she has seen the gaps in care for rural residents who need specialized care.

I met Josh, an architect, who is running for a Congressional seat because his congressman has been MIA for twelve years and refuses to listen to his constituents.

I met Judy, who stepped up to run on the last day of filing, because she saw an important seat was going to go uncontested to the State Senator who is defunding rural public schools.

I met Clayton, a community advocate, who is running in Missouri’s 8th District — the poorest district in the state. He’s running for economic fairness and clean water and strong schools.

I met Clayton’s primary opponent, Chris, an Army veteran and IBEW union member who is running on worker rights and to stand against endless wars.

I met with my friend Fred, an Army veteran and all-around great guy, who is running for Congress and says that Missourians just deserve a fair shot.

I met Luke and LaTonya and Gena and Shereka and Pam all in one night. They are all running in NWMO, where they will be facing opponents who are funded by Republican PACs designed to overturn the will of the people and do the bidding of the wealthy.

I know I have left out a few candidates, and I am so sorry for my poor memory. I have been to so many events and rallies in the last few weeks that I had to refer to my calendar to remember the counties and states I have been in. While digging through my calendar, I just remembered that I am back at it again this Saturday.

I think I should tell you that I think this mess is going to get better and soon. I know I tell stories that are unbearable and heartbreaking, but I also want you to know that there are people out here determined to make it better. Those who won’t stop organizing or running or volunteering. Those who refuse to look away.

I am in text chains and Signal groups that organize every day. They don’t stop because they can’t stop until the work is done. They give me hope.

In church basements and community centers and libraries, folks are showing up. They are running when no one else will. They are organizing when it would be easier to quit. To walk away.

If anything is going to save Missouri, it won’t be a last-minute miracle — it will be ordinary people refusing to let go of each other.

That’s the work. That’s the hope. And it’s already here.

~Jess