The Democratic Party was handed a whooping this past year in rural America. We struggled up and down the ticket in formerly bright blue areas and lost margins in red districts. While we can attribute these issues to a nationalization of the race in Montana, along with fewer split ticket voters in 2020 than in 2016, I believe there needs to be a radically different approach to winning in rural America over the next decade. By focusing our efforts on modest, genuine centrist candidates who come from rural Montana and messaging issues that matter to rural Americans, we can broaden our tent and get back to the roots of our party.

First and foremost, our candidates need to come from rural parts of our state. Contrary to the current trend in politics, the strongest leaders I’ve had in my life have been from different walks of life, not the Ivy League. I’m not suggesting that living in rural areas magically makes one a good leader; however, there is something to the authenticity it breeds in people. And this authenticity is what makes a rural candidate perfect for the Democrats: they care about issues that the ‘coastal elites’ that are associated with the party all too often, do not.

A candidate who cares about agriculture, industry, and infrastructure will make a relatable, genuine persona who will be able to bond with the rural voters the democratic party needs to reconnect with. ‘The Gulch,’ nestled on the East face of the Continental Divide, is about as red as it gets. AOC and the democrtatic party are seen as the enemy. But it doesn’t affect my relationships with my neighbors because we need to depend on each other when it snows three feet in October. This trustworthiness in times of need helps us get past the partisan politics, and it’s that personal trust we should strive for in our candidates.

Having candidates that care deeply about agricultural and public land issues will also create permission structures for staunch republicans to vote democrat. The era of coastal elitism in America may continue nationwide for a long time, but we cannot let it dictate politics in Montana, because if it does, the democrats will get slaughtered year in and year out.

Some critics of this theory may propose a stronger ground game in Yellowstone or Flathead counties is safer than investing in bright red territory; however, they are mistaken because the centrist candidate will be more apt to relate with the rural voters we need to win. A strong candidate who can create a bottom up ground game in the rural areas of our state is how we can begin winning more votes.

We undervalue the will of people to take part in something bigger than they are; we need to give these individuals the opportunity to do so. Grassroots organizing in tight-knit communities spreads so much faster than it does in disconnected ones, and all of our rural areas are connected tightly. There is so much work to be done to regain the trust and votes of rural Montanans, and we can do it through running centrist candidates and expanding our organizing in rural areas.

There’s no doubt it will take more personnel and contact with different voters than we are accustomed to, but it is broadening the democratic tent for the better. After all, I’m proud to be in a party that can represent both AOC and Joe Manchin, and a lot of the power of the Democrats comes from our broad coalition. It’s time we start playing the game like that in Montana. Democrats cannot keep relying on persuading a slim margin of independents every year, they need to be more ambitious and change the map. And by running a candidate who has rural values and honest, genuine character, I believe the Democrats can change the game of politics in Montana.