Regarding the Oct. 9 Metro article "Rural Va. Democrats complain party is ignoring them":

In statewide elections, Virginia's Democrats cannot afford to ignore rural Democrats. While Democrats in rural districts may not be successful in winning Virginia House or Senate seats, rural Democrats must be motivated to come out and vote. Their votes will elect statewide candidates.

In 2016, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won Virginia by 212,000 votes. In 53 of Virginia's most Republican-leaning and rural counties and cities, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump got 69 percent of the vote to Ms. Clinton's 26 percent. However, Ms. Clinton's 26 percent in those locations represented 215,000 votes — enough for her to win Virginia. Democrats need to court all voters throughout the commonwealth.

Louis Modliszewski, Warrenton