Elliott County, Kentucky: How can Democrats win it back?

[I’m not Stu]

How can Democrats win it back eventually?

[Mr. Smith]

Wait for some kind of realignment in a century.

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

Wait for some kind of realignment in a century.

It's a fairly sparsely populated county, so I don't think it would take THAT long for a Democrat to win it at the Presidential level. I think the most plausible scenario where it flips back without some kind of realignment is if a popular, populist incumbent D President is running for reelection.

[I’m not Stu]

Maybe a popular incumbent who's a good fit for the county could win it.

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

Maybe a popular incumbent who's a good fit for the county could win it.

Something like this:

Sherrod Brown/Russ Feingold vs Ted Cruz/Carly Fiorina

[TML]

Consider:

-This county is rather poor, with about 1/3 of the population relying on food stamps.
-The vast majority of this county's registered voters are Democrats, and they voted Democratic out of tradition until they saw Trump's appeal.

Now, given that the Trump administration is proposing to cut food stamps and other safety net programs which many people in this county rely on, all it takes for the Democrats to win this county back is to run a populist progressive candidate who actively pitches a platform to protect and expand safety net programs such as Food Stamps, Medicare, etc. In fact, I think this could be a winning formula in many other Appalachian counties where Democrats have a majority or plurality of registered voters but have tanked at the presidential level in recent elections.

[Truvinny]

Consider:

-This county is rather poor, with about 1/3 of the population relying on food stamps.
-The vast majority of this county's registered voters are Democrats, and they voted Democratic out of tradition until they saw Trump's appeal.

Now, given that the Trump administration is proposing to cut food stamps and other safety net programs which many people in this county rely on, all it takes for the Democrats to win this county back is to run a populist progressive candidate who actively pitches a platform to protect and expand safety net programs such as Food Stamps, Medicare, etc. In fact, I think this could be a winning formula in many other Appalachian counties where Democrats have a majority or plurality of registered voters but have tanked at the presidential level in recent elections.

I disagree. As someone from a rural WWC background, many people in these places are resentful against social programs, despite the fact that they are usually on them themselves or at least somebody in their family or friend group is. It's cognitive dissonance of the highest order. Areas like this will be Trump or Die, the last places he will lose support.

[I’m not Stu]

Consider:

-This county is rather poor, with about 1/3 of the population relying on food stamps.
-The vast majority of this county's registered voters are Democrats, and they voted Democratic out of tradition until they saw Trump's appeal.

Now, given that the Trump administration is proposing to cut food stamps and other safety net programs which many people in this county rely on, all it takes for the Democrats to win this county back is to run a populist progressive candidate who actively pitches a platform to protect and expand safety net programs such as Food Stamps, Medicare, etc. In fact, I think this could be a winning formula in many other Appalachian counties where Democrats have a majority or plurality of registered voters but have tanked at the presidential level in recent elections.

I disagree. As someone from a rural WWC background, many people in these places are resentful against social programs, despite the fact that they are usually on them themselves or at least somebody in their family or friend group is. It's cognitive dissonance of the highest order. Areas like this will be Trump or Die, the last places he will lose support.

Why did they historically vote Democratic if they resent social programs?