Many larger campaigns begin their work with a list just like the one above. This concept, which comes from Wellstone training, is about building a list of people you can rely on in different communities of your district.

In large urban areas, you can be talking about pocket communities, suburbs, or even a few blocks or subdivisions. In rural America? You are hoping to identify someone in a county or by square mile coverage.

Democratic voices in rural communities have been weakened due to a general feeling that their voices simply do not matter. They have developed Bad News Bears syndrome, the expectation of losing is incredibly high and as a result, campaigns and parties lose track of any progressive voices. The fewer people we know, the fewer resources we have, and the harder it is to build up resources in a hurry when we need them.

One of the keys to working to campaign in a rural community is identifying Democratic members who can be helpful to you. If you are stuck on who is there to contact, it might be time to break out Votebuilder or PDI and check registered Democratic members in these communities. Make introductions before you run or support a candidate, and get local members involved in the process.

Most rural communities are barely growing, rapidly aging, and voting at a higher percentage.

Rural markets are so wildly different from urban markets that many of the rules which we apply to major metros are just wrong for small communities. In studies looking at rural communities, we see similar trends. Younger people don’t stay, moving off to larger communities and the population as a whole grows older.

While population shrinks, the turnout for these communities increases. This creates small communities with significant voting power at the ballot box. A community where 80% of possible voters cast a vote can have more power than a much larger community where 55% of the possible voters head to the ballot box.

The small size of the communities, however, also means that the methods of communication are different. Rural community participation in social media and online marketing is low both due to age and lack of services. According to the FCC, roughly 39% of those living in rural communities have limited internet services.

Right-wing Republicans figured this out some time ago, paying attention to incredibly cheap and effective radio and signage. These tools are not very effective in urban communities, but in rural communities, where a drive “into town” may be an hour in a car each direction, the captive audience matters.

Once you have identified the people you know in those communities, you have to realize that the Republicans are messaging into these communities 24/7, 365. Part of your plan for Democratic messaging should be some level of outreach on a consistent basis.

I’m the only Democratic voter here!

I cannot tell you how often a meeting happens in rural America where those who attend say: “I am one of the only Democratic party members I know!” A quick glance at VoteBuilder, though, tells us they are wrong; there are normally quite a few Democratic members, even if an incredible minority, it is just they have decided voting in their community does not matter. Changing this mindset is going to be important to change the margins in rural America.

Part of campaigning in rural America is realizing that margins matter; the expectations that Democratic Party Members will get “blown out” in rural communities is a recipe for cementing Republican majorities in state houses and giving Republicans a giant head start in the US Senate.

So, how do we alter the turnout number in these communities and get Democratic members who have sat on the sidelines motivated about turning out?

One of the practices is to make sure that Democratic voters know that they are not alone in the community, and a good way to accomplish that is by electing Democratic members to local non-partisan races. These include offices like County Clerk, City Council, School Board, Water Board, Community College Board, and so on.

If you give local Democratic members a reason to turn out at the poll and provide voters someone they can recognize as one of them, with even some success, you help build resources. You also build up the name ID of Democratic members who may go on and run for another office.

In Idaho, this was a key focus of the long-term party building efforts, establishing a pipeline of potential talent in all areas of the state.

This process will not happen overnight, but Republicans were willing to work on this strategy from the late 1970s to now because they understood the long-term goal.

Signs?

There are a lot of individuals who will pass on a simple saying: “signs don’t vote.” There is a lot of truth to that, and signs have an ongoing expense for a campaign that can drain resources. In Metro communities, sign spottings are frequent and nothing I have seen as far as a political science study shows a lot of impacts.

In rural communities, however, highway signage and large signs placed around businesses or along roadways is not just about backing a candidate, it goes back to helping other Democratic party members recognize they are, in fact, not alone.

LISTEN

In larger communities, campaigns can become background noise. You have so many different campaigns going on close by one another that voters will see multiple ads, hear multiple responses, and candidates can get lost in a shuffle.

Races in rural communities are very different. You are the only candidate running for that office anywhere close by, and as a result the local papers and media only cover you. As an example, in Raleigh, North Carolina; St. Louis, Missouri; or Baton Rouge, Louisiana, you as a candidate will share news media space with dozens of other candidates running for the same office in a different district. But in rural communities in those states, there may be multiple counties in your district where you as a Democrat are the ONLY candidate running for that office and that district. As a result, listening has a major impact.

In rural communities, localizing issues is significantly important. The more you know about the concerns of the local communities, the better you can address them directly, rather than spend time talking about statewide and national issues.

Finally: There is no silver bullet.

Campaigning in rural America is not a matter of silver bullets. There is no single candidate or single magic phrase that will convert rural America to suddenly go from being hardened Republican to Democratic voters. Republicans have invested in a rural oriented strategy for decades. It will take consistent effort to restore to our voting rolls Democratic members who are there but disinterested. It is possible to make real progress in rural America. Campaigns that look at rural districts should have realistic goals of success and remember that a big part of their job is restoring the existence of a Democratic message.

Next week on Nuts & Bolts: AAARGH! Returns — next week, Campaign Finance Expectation Games.