I get the sense that what the Party can do, if it needs to do anything, to engage with rural voters [View all]

[ClarendonDem]

Is going to be an ongoing discussion for the foreseeable future. Excerpts from an article on the WaPo titled "The Daily 202: Final Virginia governor’s debate spotlights Democratic problems in rural America."

THE BIG IDEA: Democrats have a real problem in rural America, and it was on display in the third and final Virginia governor’s debate last night.

In the heart of coal country, at the University of Virginia campus in Wise, the moderator asked Ed Gillespie about schools. The Republican nominee quickly pivoted to talk about coal. He celebrated the Trump administration’s announcement that Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan will be rescinded and warned that his Democratic opponent, Ralph Northam, will try to put a Virginia version in effect if he gets elected. He then promised repeatedly to reinstate a coal tax credit.

Rather than push back, Northam — the lieutenant governor — talked about pre-K and K-12 education. Then the moderator asked him about the Clean Power Plan. He grew visibly uncomfortable and gave a halting answer that both nodded to the importance of coal and called for embracing renewable energy. “Coal is very important to the economy in southwest Virginia. I understand that,” he said. “So, I will do everything that I can to support the coal industry. … At the same time, we have a great opportunity.” He explained that renewables like wind and solar are “a win-win” because they could bring the jobs of the future. “At the same time, it would move us to cleaner energy and a cleaner environment,” he said.
***
-- For Democrats, figuring out how to get a toehold back into rural territory is imperative. The biggest Senate battlegrounds in 2018 are in states like North Dakota, Montana, West Virginia, Indiana and Missouri.

Thus far, in Virginia’s off-year election, there are few indications that they are figuring it out. If Northam blows this race — which is a very real possibility — it will set off Democratic alarm bells about the wisdom of their midterm strategy and generate a wave of nasty recriminations in the escalating civil war between the pragmatists and the leftists.

[link:https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2017/10/10/daily-202-final-virginia-governor-s-debate-spotlights-democratic-problems-in-rural-america/59dc25b630fb0468cea81e1f/?utm_term=.7682c24f10fc|

I would be shocked if Northam lost -- there's simply too many votes in the NoVa area where we live. But Virginia was much closer than I expected in November, and if folks stay home, which they often do in off-year elections, the vote could be tight.