Rural Pennsylvania Democrats are afraid of telling you that they are Democrats.
The party’s brand is so toxic in small towns across northern Pennsylvania, some liberals have taken down yard signs and bumper stickers and refused to identify their party affiliation publicly. These Democrats are used a being outnumbered in local Republican majority. But as their numbers continue decreasing, the few remaining Democrats are feeling more isolated and unwelcomed in their own communities.
Tim Holohan (an accountant based in rural McKean County) said that there is a hatred for Democrats. He encouraged his daughter to get rid a pro Joe Biden bumper sticker. I feel like we’re on the run.
The political climate in rural Pennsylvania is indicative of a larger problem that threatens the Democratic Party ahead 2022’s midterm elections. Democrats have lost votes in almost every election since 2008 and are now effectively exiled from many rural areas of America. This leaves party leaders with little choice but to reverse a cultural trend which is redefining the country’s political landscape.
This shift in the climate helped Republicans limit Democratic gains. Republicans actually won House seats despite former President Donald Trump losing. And a year later, Republicans were able to win the Virginia governorship due to the surge in Republican rural support. A small, but vocal, group of party officials fears that the same trends will undermine Democratic candidate in Ohio, Wisconsin Georgia, North Carolina, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia. These states will be crucial in deciding the Senate majority in November and the White House in two years.
Two open Pennsylvania races for the U.S. Senate seat in 2020 and the governor’s post in 2022 place the state in the spotlight again, as the midterm election will decide the control of Congress.
The Democratic Party continues to focus its vast majority of energy, messaging, and resources on voters in densely populated areas.
In Pennsylvania, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is a leading candidate for the state’s high stakes Senate contest. He insists that his party cannot afford to ignore rural voters. The ex-mayor in small-town drove his Dodge Ram pickup truck across five rural areas last weekend to face voters who nearly never see statewide Democratic candidate.
Photos: The Brand Is So Toxic’: Rural Pa. Has Become a Hostile Climate for Democrats
Fetterman, who was wearing his trademark sweatshirt and shorts in the freezing temperatures, said that he was a champion for forgotten, marginalized, and the left-behind as he addressed approximately 100 people in a McKean County bingo hall. Trump won this area with 72% of the vote in 2020.
These are the kinds of places that matter just like any other place, Fetterman stated as the crowd cheered.
For years, the Democratic Party’s struggle in rural America is growing. It’s only getting worse.
Barack Obama won 875 county in the United States in his 2008 triumph. Twelve years later, Biden had won only 527. According to data compiled from The Associated Press., the vast majority of those 348 county losses occurred in rural areas.
Due to gains in more populous Democratic areas, Biden was able overcome rural losses to defeat Trump in 2020. Some Democratic officials fear that party leaders may not be aware of the seriousness of the threat, perhaps because Biden’s victory.
Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper from Tennessee recently said he would not seek to reelect himself to Congress this fall. This is a warning sign that the party may be in danger of being extinct in small-town America.
It’s difficult to sink lower than where we are now. Cooper said that rural areas are almost automatically pariahs if there is a D after your name.” Cooper told The Associated Press.
Former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp from North Dakota worries that her party will lose its majority if it fails to stop rural bleeding, even if Democrats continue to win urban and suburban votes.
Democrats hold the House, the Senate, and the presidency. However, it is a fragile majority. Heitkamp, who is now the head of the One Country Project, a project that focuses on rural voters, said that this narrow majority makes it difficult to advance ideas or build coalitions.
The Democratic National Committee has appointed Kylie Oversen (a former North Dakota state legislator) to chair the national committee’s rural advisory. The DNC says it is sharing resources with rural people to improve organizing, training, and recruiting.
These resources have not made life easier for Democrats in northwestern Pennsylvania so far.
One group of voters who attended one of Fetterman’s weekends stops in rural Clarion said that they had been effectively ostracized from their community and even extended family members because of being Democrats. One woman brought her political signs inside at night to make sure they weren’t stolen or vandalized.
This year, there are many Democrats and Republicans running for governor in Pennsylvania. Lauren Mayk, NBC10’s reporter, goes to the whiteboard and breaks down each candidate’s qualifications.
Barbara Speer (68), a retired sixth grade teacher, said that you need to be careful.
Michelle’s Cafe is a local gathering place for local Democrats. It’s located on Clarion’s main Street. A sign outside the building proclaims support of Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ rights, and other progressive priorities.
Kaitlyn Nevel (33-year-old cafe owner) isn’t comfortable talking about her political affiliation when she’s asked.
She said she would rather not answer, because it is a small community.
Eugenia Barboza (22-year-old college student) said that the cafe is the only place she feels safe as a Latina immigrant. She said that a caravan of Trump supporters gathered just down the road to drive to the deadly protests at Washington on January 6, 2021.
Barboza stated that she was grateful for Fetterman and other Democrats coming to rural areas. However, she isn’t optimistic that this will change.
She stated that it would take much more than just him to accomplish this. It would take many years.