Real Heroes

Rural Democrats

“I don’t think Republican lawmakers know how angry the people are, or they would be acting and voting differently.”

I heard that from someone in rural Nebraska a few months back, and though I can see where the sentiment is coming from, I have to disagree. Republican lawmakers know exactly how mad we are, but they have no plan to change course or try to win over voters before the midterm election.

Instead of trying to win over voters, Republicans are trying to keep us from voting. Can you imagine the things we could be accomplishing if we had lawmakers as focused on policies as they are on redistricting and suppressing or erasing votes? If they were focused on bettering our lives instead of stripping our voices?

I usually travel to speak at least once a week these days, and this week is no different. I always arrive early so I can talk to folks…I speak to audiences full of rural, red-state Democrats. They are angry. Very angry.

They didn’t vote for any of this, and they have a right to their anger. I fall into that category.

But I also live and work in a rural space surrounded by MAGA voters and apathetic people who do not vote at all. And these are the people that folks ask me about most often. Not the rural Democrats I know, but the MAGA voters I know. And I am always asked the same question: Why do they vote for Republicans?

They voted for Trump because they think their religion tells them to or because they are a “pick-me” trying to fit in with others or they are racist, misogynistic homophobes or they lack critical thinking or they are wealthy enough to qualify for the tax cuts.

The only category I am the least bit sympathetic to is the religiously indoctrinated.

Voting for Trump has little to nothing to do with policies or economics…it’s cultural. It’s being in the right club. Being a Republican Trump voter in my neck of the woods is the default — of course, you’re a Trump supporter. Most of the Trump voters I know aren’t making policy calculations. It’s their identity. It’s belonging. It’s social pressure. It’s the massive cost of stepping outside groupthink.

But I don’t want to talk about those folks. I am sick of talking about them or explaining them or their motives.

Instead, I want to talk about the strongest people you will ever meet. Red state Democrats. Rural Democrats. Progressives in small towns across the country. The people not fitting in — the ones who stand out. The ones willing to do the difficult work year after year, cycle after cycle. Loss after loss.

You won’t find a better bunch of patriots on the planet.

Speaking to a group of rural Democrats in Mid-Missouri.

The red-state, rural Democrats are another breed altogether. They are doing the work Republicans are trying to stop. They are standing in front of their neighbors, taking the stray comments and accusations that they don’t deserve. They stand up for people who voted for all of this to happen, and they take the abuse that comes with it.

And they have been at it for years.

These rural Democrats put up yard signs that alienate them from neighbors. They organize potlucks to fund local candidates who are likely to lose in their first cycle. They knock doors that slam in their face. They make calls and get cussed for their trouble. They write postcards that are sent back with vague threats scrawled across them. They speak at town halls and city council meetings and school board meetings to jeers and taunts.

And they do it over and over again. Year after year. Cycle after cycle.

There can be isolation in the work in red states and rural areas. And that is by design…the GOP oppression is supposed to make them stop. Make us retreat into our own homes and mind our own business. Stop making waves. Be quiet.

Republicans can’t win a fair fight, so they change the rules. They redraw the maps — without putting it to a vote. They purge rolls or make it difficult to obtain the IDs needed to vote. They close the polling places or remove mail-in voting. They flood the zone with shit and dare anyone to keep up or fight back.

It can be exhausting. It can be overwhelming. It can feel useless…but it’s not. Just by showing up, we let others know it’s okay.

And I see the progress.

A small group of folks from Cameron, Missouri reached out to me four years ago. They were concerned about an extremist church in the town that was attempting to infiltrate the school board to ban books and LGBT references in books.

The group of people who asked me to come speak to them gathered in a church basement in town. The feeling I got while walking down the stairs into the basement was one of dread and fear. These residents weren’t comfortable publicizing their meeting or speaking in public…yet.

I returned to Cameron a few weeks back to speak at a rally for candidates running. I returned to a room that was standing-room-only. Where six local candidates have their name on the ballot. Where not only was the same town hosting us in the light of day, but they advertised it and didn’t have the space to hold all of the folks who came to hear a Democratic message from other rural Democrats.

Cameron, Missouri started with twelve people gathered in a basement to over a hundred in a meeting hall. Progress. Hope. Something concrete to grab a hold of. Something to think about.

Cameron, Missouri. Democratic candidate forum. 5/2/26.

We all know this election is going to be the most important election, because every election since 2016 has been the most important election. We have to stop the corruption and the demise of our democracy. We have to stop the authoritarian creep that has turned into a landslide. We have to stop the fascist dog whistles that turned into bullhorns.

We have to stop Trump and his enablers in the Republican Party. And we can’t do that by continuously pleading with the unwilling and uninterested. The three-time Trump voter.

When folks ask me how to flip Trump voters, I always say the same thing. You can’t. There is no use in beating your head against a brick wall or a stubborn racist willing to vote against his self-interest.

Find the willing. Find the folks with no political home. Bring them along.

Red-state, rural Democrats are not a lost cause. In fact, getting rural people to the polls to vote against Republican tyranny is the cause. We can change the country when we remember the spaces we ceded decades ago.

Rural Democrats are here and doing the work. They have always been here.

And we aren’t going anywhere.

~Jess

P.S. You can help me directly fund Missouri down-ballot candidates in 2026. I am the Executive Director of Blue Missouri and we are the only organization to specifically fund the reddest and most rural districts in the state. We are one of the biggest donors to Missouri down-ballot candidates by donating almost 500K to candidates since 2017.

You can join here.