Ever find yourself reading the political news and thinking, “Who in the hell thought that was a good idea?” Politics these days feels like one long game of pretend, where the folks in charge talk a big game about representing the people but ain’t set foot in half the places they claim to care about. In particular, rural America.

Now, I’ve got a few fancy degrees from some well-known universities. I’ve sat through the lectures, read the books, and shook hands with folks who wear neckties for a living. But let me tell you, nothing teaches you common sense faster than living in rural America, especially if your family goes back 5 generations. Out here, if your truck won’t start, you don’t commission a study or hire a consultant. You pop the hood and figure it out.

So there I was the other day, bouncing along on my tractor, after reading this piece in Rolling Stone (The Democratic Brand is Cooked)—said the Democratic Party’s brand is about as popular as a poke in the eye. Only 36% of voters view the party favorably. And when folks were asked which party they trusted more to handle the economy, it wasn’t the Democrats. It was the other team. That’s right—after delivering historic investments in infrastructure, jobs, and broadband, Democrats are still losing the messaging war to folks who think the biggest threat to America is drag queens and diversity training.

The same article laid it bare: the party of working people has lost the working people. Pollsters now say Democrats have a “perception gap.” Translation? Voters don’t know what Democrats stand for anymore—or worse, they assume the worst.

Makes me wonder if the Party’s ever heard of a “sales pitch.” 'Cause out here, we know you can have the best product in the world, but if you don’t show up to sell it, somebody else will.

And show up they ain’t. Cardinal News just reported that out of 12 Democrats running statewide in Virginia primaries, only two have made the trip to the Commonwealth’s westernmost county—Lee County. That’s not a strategy. That’s a ghosting. The same article points out something even worse: campaign stops in rural Virginia are treated like optional detours, not critical battlegrounds. That’s a problem when nearly one in four Virginians still live in rural counties.

Meanwhile, over in Kentucky, they’ve got a fella named Colmon Elridge chairing the state Democratic Party, and by the sound of it, he's got a lick of sense. Instead of blowing money on big-city consultants who’ve never set foot in a Dollar General, he just started showing up. They call it a “Rural Listening Tour,” but out here we’d call it doing your damn job.

Elridge is making a point to visit all 120 counties in Kentucky—red, blue, or MAGA plaid. And he’s right when he says, “Folks didn’t give up on the Democratic Party. We stopped doing the things we knew we needed to do.” That line hit me. He’s not sugarcoating it. He’s owning the failure. He’s walking into counties that went 80–85% for Trump—not to shame them, but to talk. To listen. To ask what matters.

And the crazy thing? It’s working. According to CBS8, Kentucky Democrats, despite being outnumbered nearly 2-to-1—are starting to rebuild trust in rural communities. Why? Because they stopped writing off voters and started showing up.

Now, over here in Virginia, down in coal country, I’d have to dust off a history book to tell you the last time a Virginia Democratic Party chair came to my neck of the woods. Lee County. Wise County. Places where folks still wave to their neighbors and remember which union hall their granddaddy cussed in.

Let me put it this way: my hometown of Big Stone Gap had the first Walmart in Virginia. Back in the early ’80s, ol’ Sam Walton himself would stroll into Mutual Pharmacy, a local eatery for a sandwich and a chat. That’s right—the billionaire boss man came all the way to our corner of the map to shake hands and talk shop with the locals on a YEARLY basis.  Why?  To know the locals and do some business with them. The man knew how to create a brand people would love.

Meanwhile, I’ve yet to meet a high-ranking Democratic official in my neck of the woods. Not a one.  Are you starting to connect the dots?

Back when my kin were part of the United Mine Workers, the union never skipped the far-off chapters. UMWA leaders made the rounds, kept the locals engaged, and earned their trust the hard way. That’s how you build a movement. And frankly, that’s how you build a brand.

Democrats used to know this. I remember a statewide Democrat really showing up in 1989. That’s when Doug Wilder kicked off his campaign for Governor right here in Lee County VA. Not Roanoke. Not Richmond. He came down here where the road ends and the hollers begin. And guess what? He didn’t just win the state—he won this part of the state, too.

Let that sink in: the same Southwest Virginia counties that now vote 70 to 80% MAGA? They once voted overwhelmingly for the first Black governor elected in the South. Folks here put their trust in Doug Wilder, a Black Democrat from Richmond, because he showed up. Because he looked them in the eye. Because he treated them like they mattered. He didn’t hide behind consultants or cherry-pick the easy counties. He brought the message to the hard places and people respected that.

And besides Wilder, you know the only other statewide Democrat who’s consistently paid attention to this part of Virginia? That’d be Senator Tim Kaine. He didn’t just stumble into it—his wife, Anne Holton, is from Big Stone Gap. Her family’s deep roots here mean something. And guess what? That shows up in the numbers. Kaine consistently runs stronger than most Democrats in Southwest and Southside Virginia. Why? Because he visits. Because he listens. Because he doesn’t treat rural folks like political relics. He knows our votes count too!

So if the Democratic Party was a union or a business, I’d ask: Do you show up? Do you listen? Do you treat people like they matter? Because if you don’t, don’t be surprised when they stop paying dues or shopping at your store.

We don’t need another study. We need a damn tour bus and some shoe leather from party officials. Or better yet, maybe we ought to invite that Kentucky chairman over the state line. Show Virginia Democrats what leadership with boots on the ground really looks like.

Till next time, that’s the story from the ‘Back Forty’. — John W. Peace II

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John W. Peace II is a fifth-generation farmer from Big Stone Gap, Virginia, where he grew up on his family’s dairy, Clinch Haven Farms, and still lives today with the farm producing hay. He’s a proud father to Trey and Shelby Peace, and partner in life to Cathy Swinney. A Virginia Tech graduate with graduate studies at Penn State, he served as the youngest Chair of the Wise County Board of Supervisors (2004–2008). John co-owns SafeHavenServices.co and urTOPIX LLC (urTopixLLC.com), a Democratic campaign consulting firm focused on reaching rural voters that is sponsored by www.RuralAmericaRising.com PAC. He’s also a two-time Amazon bestselling author. Learn more at www.JohnWPeace.com.