How can Dems win rural voters?

[DabbingSanta]

They can't.  Democrats have seen some brief improvements in the past, but they always end up being temporary, and given the trajectory with their ideology and urban base I really can't see why many white rural voters would have any reason to switch parties barring something exceptional.

In 1964, Johnson performed well nationwide, including in rural areas, outside the Deep South.  Goldwater was a terrible candidate and his libertarian views probably scared a lot of farmers who depended on agricultural subsidies from the New Deal.

1976 was the last election which many rural counties in the South voted Democrat. Carter was a fellow southerner who came from a very small town and managed a peanut farming business.

In 1988, Dukakis performed well in rural parts of the northern Plains and Upper Midwest.  This was largely due to the Farm Crisis, and it was not near enough to make him competitive nationally.

In 2008, Obama performed well in rural parts of the Upper Midwest, especially Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin.  These areas were more competitive in 2012 and turned hard right for Trump in 2016.