The modern-day Democratic Party would function best as a collection of political coalitions. Historically, a crucial aspect of those coalitions has included Southern, rural, conservative Democrats. However, recent election cycles have all but eliminated conservative and rural Democrats. A combination of lost primaries, general election defeats, and a national party moving further to the left has dramatically dwindled rural and conservative voices within the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party’s standing in rural and conservative America is weaker than ever before. After the 2014 elections, Democrats held close to zero percent of Southern state legislatures, Senate seats, or gubernatorial seats. In Indiana, there is only one Democrat in the state legislature who represents a rural district. In 2010, there were six Democratic Congressmen from rural North Carolina areas. Today, there is only one.

When I came to Wake Forest University, most people were surprised to learn I was a Democrat. Perhaps this was due to my relatively conservative beliefs, my accent, and/or the fact I live in a rural area of North Carolina. Indeed, as politics has become more polarizing, demographics have become more accurate indicators of voters’ preferences. Fewer and fewer Democrats nationwide identify, as I do, as Protestant or with the Second Amendment. The Democratic Party largely excluded areas like my hometown in 2016. Issues important to my community received little attention from the Democratic candidate.

I still believe, however, that there can be room within the Democratic Party for Conservatives. Rural conservatives in the party are needed to balance the interests of more liberal and urban voters. This unique trans-ideological coalition enabled the Democratic Party to save itself from demise by winning the 1992 Presidential election after suffering three straight electoral defeats. In that year, Bill Clinton won states as different as Louisiana and New Jersey or California and West Virginia. An electoral map at the county level shows solidly Democratic results up and down the Mississippi in 1992. Similar maps from 2016 reveal Republican dominance in almost all of these counties.

Overlooking the concerns of rural Conservatives first cost Democrats a presidential election in 2000 and then again in 2016. Had Al Gore won Tennessee or Hillary Clinton the Middle West, they would have won the White House in addition to the popular vote. As Democratic strongholds have receded towards the coast, Democratic politicians have abandoned rural America. This is not a sustainable policy for the party of Jackson.

The shock of Republican victories in 2016 has forced the national Democratic Party to reinvest in rural communities. But, it may prove too late as the platform has become increasingly progressive and primaries have increasingly become a machine for destroying moderation. In order to win again, the Democratic Party must be big enough for both Chuck Schumer and Joe Manchin.

There should be enough freedom in the party to criticize abortion as well as the Republican economic policy. The party must promote diversity of opinions as well as backgrounds.

If the Democratic Party continues to ignore rural communities and does not embrace conservatism yet again, its politicians and activists will be due for another embarrassing defeat in 2020.