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The Democrats’ Path Back to Power Might Start in Places Like This Appalachian Town

Democrats seek to regain political power by engaging small-town and rural voters in places like Paintsville, Kentucky, as of 2025.
This effort responds to Republican gains as Trump won 60% of rural voters in 2020 and 63% in 2024, and Democratic-led states lose population to Sun Belt states.
In Kentucky's Johnson County, a predominantly white, Republican enclave, Democrats hosted their largest local gathering amid respect for Democratic Governor Beshear, who expanded Medicaid and earned bipartisan praise for disaster response.
Kentucky Democratic Chair Colmon Elridge acknowledged that discussions with predominantly white rural communities had largely ceased, highlighting the importance of reengaging with these areas despite persistent obstacles posed by conservative efforts against education and civil rights.
Without improving rural voter support, projections warn Democrats may lose 12 Electoral College seats by 2030 and struggle to regain Senate control or the presidency, making sustained local engagement essential.

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The Virginian Pilot

Center

The Democrats’ path back to power might start in places like this small Appalachian town

PAINTSVILLE, Ky. — Janet Lynn Stumbo leaned on her cane and surveyed the two dozen or so voters who had convened in a small Appalachian town to meet with the chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party. A former Kentucky Supreme Court justice, the 70-year-old Stumbo said the event was “the biggest Democratic gathering I have ever seen in Johnson County,” an enclave where Republican Donald Trump got 85% of the presidential vote last November. Paintsvi…

18 hours ago·Norfolk, United States

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