Part of what pushed me politically over time was realizing how much power in many small towns is concentrated in the hands of a relatively small group of people — often older, established, well-connected white families who’ve run local business, politics, banking, development, or civic institutions for generations.

That doesn’t mean every rural community is some caricature, and obviously not every white person or small-town resident fits that mold. But it has been my experience that there can be enormous social pressure toward conformity. Diversity of thought, outsiders, demographic change, or challenges to the status quo are sometimes viewed less as healthy evolution and more as threats to existing social and economic hierarchies.

In cities, power tends to be more diffuse and people are exposed to far more competing viewpoints and lifestyles. In many smaller communities, social standing and influence can depend heavily on “knowing your place,” fitting in culturally, and not rocking the boat. That environment can naturally produce more conservative politics and resistance to change.

And honestly, I think that’s part of why modern right-wing populism resonated so strongly in some of these places. It taps directly into anxieties about losing cultural dominance, social status, and control over institutions that historically reflected one particular version of America.

At the same time, I think it’s important not to flatten rural America into one stereotype. There are plenty of thoughtful, open-minded people in small towns too — they’re just often quieter politically, or socially outnumbered.

I grew up in a very rural area in Ohio and have spent a lot of time working in remote rural areas in NC. Everything you said here resonates.

Also, the powers that be in rural areas know how people vote. The districts are small and segregated in various ways - not just Black and white but also poor vs affluent. I know people fear for their jobs and all kinds of things if the rich people see a small district go for the Democratic candidate. They can guess who went rogue. When the bank owns your house and loans, the guy who owns the poultry plant employs you and most of your family, and the police chief could haul your nephew in for drugs at any time - is it any wonder that poor people keep their heads down and vote as they are told?

And our Constitution and the Supreme Court give those rural communities run by a handful of people a disproportionate amount of power.