Let me tell you a little story about campaigning in rural Iowa. A thread-

I pulled off the gravel road into his lane, it was a long driveway with his farm up on the hill. I put in the signs right where he'd asked, with the Biden/Harris sign in front.

It was late October, maybe 8pm and already dark. He'd called the day before and I told him I'd be out the next day, in the evening after work. As I walked back to the truck, I noticed the porch light had come on and he was walking down the drive, squinting into my headlights.

Before I could get in and drive up to meet him.... POP!.... POP POP!
At about 100 feet away, he was firing his .22 pistol into the air.

We've known each other for years, but he couldn't see me, just headlights. I yelled his name, and walked out in front of the truck...

"It's me, Dave! For Christ's sake don't fucking shoot me!" He stopped, hung his head for a moment, put his piece back in his coat and walked up to me. He put is arm around me and said "Damned it son, I thought you'd already been here and some asshole was taking my Biden sign!"

We both had a good laugh. He jumped in and I drove him back up to the place, and went in for a couple of beers.

By all accounts, he would fit the mold as a rural Trump supporter. The boots, the old 4x4... the gun, hick as they come....

And yet here he is, willing to shoot it out over his Biden sign. But hey, I had met teachers and suburban professionals that told me to get lost because MAGA!! So, stereotypes ain't all that.

See, he'd been sitting up with his daughter, who'd just got home from the hospital.

He's told me how over the years, he's fought with insurance companies and Medicaid over covering the procedures for his girl, who lives with a medical condition. She'd seen my headlights down the lane and was worried, thus, the walk down the lane with heat.

I sat with them, she told me about the the cool nurse she had, and he told me about his corn that was flat after the derecho. We talked health care, politics and stories from "back in the day", you know, shootin' the shit.

So, is campaigning in rural Iowa different than in the bigger cities or suburbs? I dunno, but it always comes down to conversations. Face to face. Now, maybe candidates in town don't get shot at as much, but the conversations and relationship building is basically the same.

Why am I telling this? It's just one of many memorable moments in the campaign, I'll share more another time. But, we can't afford to write off places like this, and people like him and his daughter. As @RubyforIowa says, "we live here, too".

We damned well do. And while I wasn't successful, and Iowa overall went red this year, that don't mean Jack for the next cycle. How many other hillbillies out there have a sick kid, can't afford medical bills or groceries? Who have heard nothing but "socialism" and "big gov."

How many of them would vote blue if someone just stopped and shot the shit with them, just listened to what they had to say? I dunno, but I bet more than you'd think. In an era of conservative news, social media algorithms and right wing radio,

never underestimate the power of face to face conversations. Covid definitely made that difficult this year, but to any future candidates out there- talk less, listen more, especially to those who might not be your target voters.

Start now.

They deserve to be heard, too.