I am a Democratic activist in the northwest mountains of North Carolina (Watauga County). Have been for almost 30 years.
It’s tough ground for Democrats here. Watauga is a mix of very rural, conservative, Trump loving voters and very progressive young people and activists. For years we have been considered an election swing county in our state and a bellweather county nationally.
In the western mountains on the border with Tennessee, (Watauga is) home to Boone, which includes Appalachian State. Watauga has gone for the winner statewide in each of the last three presidential elections and three Senate races since 2008. It went for Romney in 2012 (when he won it), but Obama in 2008 (when the Democrat did). If Clinton's winning there, it means she's hitting marks with young voters.
Thanks to our hard work on the local level, and especially our hard fought and winning battles against voter suppression, we aren’t bellweather anymore. While North Carolina voted for Trump in 2016, Watauga County said no.
Politics is a blood sport here. Whether it’s for President or Clerk of Court, all our wins are uphill, and neither side takes any prisoners. Democrats constitute only 26% of registered voters in the County. Thirty percent are Republicans, and a whopping 44% are Unaffiliated. Thirty three percent of all Watauga County voters are now under 25 years old or younger. How’d that happen? We registered them.
Winning the vote in Watauga County is all about MESSAGE.
It’s hard to unearth progressive votes in Watauga County, but we plug away at it anyhow. We canvass the more rural areas of our county, and we get the expected scoldings about guns, abortions, and how marriage should be between one man and one woman. Not to mention how Democrats are big spenders. Rural voters here (like mostly everywhere I guess) profess to hate big spending, they don’t like people who they think are getting a free ride, they don’t like people who think they’re better than them, they don’t like outsiders, and they especially don’t like fancy pants people.
So we know Watauga’s rural republican voters are just gonna love this newly released video of their local Party’s recent Lincoln Day dinner, their largest fundraiser. Replete with aerial video of the majesty of it all, fine china, new hairdos, gloved servers, a speech about how “we” are working for “people who believe just like we do,” a speech about how jobs are coming back, embed istock video footage of people who don’t look like anyone from around here, and a band that sings, “How Good it is to be Loved by You.” Oh, and a speech by a crying Rep. Virginia Foxx. I’m not sure what she’s crying about in this video, but you can be sure it wasn’t about the tragic death of Matthew Shephard.
Enjoy...
The video ends with a “Thanks for Watching.” We’d like to to thank them for providing us with a clear rural message this go round. And selflessly not even making us pay for it.
