Harvest the Vote: How Democrats Can Win Again in Rural America

Grassroots organizer and Nebraska Democratic Party chair Kleeb debuts with a savvy political strategy guide for Democrats looking to make inroads in rural communities that typically vote Republican. Noting that liberals and rural voters can find common ground on such issues as Medicare and Medicaid expansion, fighting climate change, and “end[ing] eminent domain for private gain,” Kleeb suggests that Democrats can have success simply by showing up to rural towns and asking locals what’s important to them. She also offers advice on how to respectfully agree to disagree on issues including guns, abortion, and immigration. Kleeb cites FDR’s New Deal and the 1980s farm crisis as moments when urban Democrats advocated for rural communities, but her most inspiring example is the campaign to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline. National environmental groups, farmers, and Native Americans worked together, Kleeb writes, in a “David versus Goliath battle” that led to the Obama administration’s 2015 rejection of the pipeline proposal. Kleeb’s account is somewhat repetitive and might have worked just as well as a long-form essay; nevertheless, her advice is cogent and well-supported by both history and personal experience. Democrats hoping to win in the next election would be wise to take note. (Jan.)