BallotVox

How to Get Appalachian Votes

General store in Butcher Holler, KY
[jimmywayne22 / Flickr]

Jonathan Gay, aka Cyberhillbilly, grew up on a small tobacco farm in Kentucky’s Appalachian mountains. His father was a coal miner. A recovering lawyer, Jonathan now works on economic development. He knows old and new economy, he knows Appalachia, and he thinks he knows how McCain and Obama can attract votes in the region. (Thanks, Misa Dayson.)

Here’s how he sees Obama’s shortcomings in Appalachia:

Most of [his] weakness can be traced to cultural differences between national Democrats and the ones who live here in Appalachia. At the same time, I suspect many Democratic voters identified with Hillary Clinton’s populist economic message and have an innate distrust of urban Dems who might harm regionally vital industries- coal being chief amongst them.

Jonathan thinks McCain will get “the lion’s share” of Appalachian votes but believes he’ll have to work to curb voter apathy:

McCain has long been opposed to earmarks and additional federal spending. But the voters of Appalachia have consistently sent appropriators from both parties to represent them in Congress. […] To the extent that voters realize that McCain threatens highly desired projects, he may suffer at the polls. Additionally, McCain’s support for a cap on carbon emissions is seen by most as a threat to coal.

The solution for both candidates? Supporting the completion of JFK’s Appalachian Development Highway System. This highway will, in theory, dramatically generate new jobs and economic activity in the region. Supporting the highway might also have positive ripple effects beyond Appalachia:

For Obama, the closest thing to the second coming of John F. Kennedy since RFK, building on Kennedy’s legacy in Appalachia would send a nice message to voters throughout the country. For McCain, a top priority in 08 must be continued success in rural, predominately red counties won by George W. Bush in 04. This is probably why McCain’s initial tour once he’d secured the nomination took him to areas such as Inez, KY.

What a cool local angle on the campaign.