The Urban-Rural Divide

Urban-Rural Conflicts Can Drive Grassroots Authoritarianism Especially in Liberal States

Imagine this for a moment: You’re a rural voter in a county where you and your neighbors all lean a certain way politically, but time and time again, your vote gets overshadowed by dense urban centers full of people who are in no position to acknowledge and support you but who get to decide the state’s outcomes. When that is a pattern that recurs year after year, the words “the election was stolen,” gain a special resonance.

You may not even believe the election was stolen, but you may decide to spread this idea and support actions to overturn election outcomes as a means of being heard, of having your sense of being cheated by the way the votes are counted and distributed gain you an audience, even if only among others who feel like you do. And once you are among people who feel as you do, then, the lie becomes a means of building community in circumstances in which you may be feeling powerless and isolated, and a vehicle outrage over the way rural voices seem not to count in a system supposedly built on fair representation.

In Oregon, the state I know best, Democrat Tina Kotek won just 7 of 36 counties in the last gubernatorial election. But because her support was in urban, highly populated areas, she took the state. It’s a clear example of a larger trend across the U.S., where Democrats dominate in cities and Republicans dominate in rural areas. This pattern leads to Republicans often winning more counties overall, but falling short of majorities in the popular vote and Electoral College. For rural voters in red counties within blue states, this can feel like a perpetual disenfranchisement loop, feeding into the idea of a “steal.”

This divide has roots that go deeper than political preferences. It’s about geography and proximity to urban centers. Research from Washington University shows that people’s political identities are heavily shaped by how close they are to big cities. And this geographic dynamic, combined with the Electoral College’s winner-take-all structure, often leaves rural voices feeling minimized. So, while urban centers and rural regions are part of the same state, they’re increasingly divided in both experience and influence.

Can We Bridge the Divide?

If we’re serious about protecting democracy, we have to start bridging the urban-rural divide, not exploiting it. Rural communities need genuine representation, and that representation can’t come from politicians who stoke resentment without addressing underlying inequalities. We need policy solutions that take into account the needs of both rural and urban America, recognizing that these communities are interdependent, not adversarial.

1. Reinvest in Rural Economies: Strengthen rural infrastructure—roads, schools, internet access. Economic power isn’t just a tool for cities; it’s an investment in the whole state.

2. Respect Resource Ownership: Policies around land, water, and natural resources should reflect the voices of those who live in and rely on these lands. Rural areas need a say in how these resources are managed, with protections against exploitation by outside interests.

3. Expand Political Dialogue: Bring rural voices into state-level conversations, beyond token representation. Rural voters need seats at the table, not as “advisors” but as active partners.

4. Build Trust in Institutions of Governance: This is not achieved through debate or propaganda, but through winning representation and accountability and driving good governance reforms.

5. Acknowledge and Take Action On Exploitation: In many rural areas founded on resource extractive industries, the shift in the U.S. from having an economy grounded on resource extraction to one based on information has had devastating effects. In these areas, urban environmentalists and liberal urbanites in general are often blamed for job loss, but rarely the companies whose unsustainable practices in the name of higher profits (and governments that failed to limit exploitation of workers and the environment) actually are most to blame. In some, primary resource extractive industries own the largest share of land, but pay less in property taxes per square foot than ordinary homeowners and small businesses, contributing to diminishing tax revenues.

6. Support Efforts to Build a Pluralistic Democracy: A pluralistic democracy is one in which our liberal institutions are strong and held accountable for protecting the rights of minority groups and individuals against the tyranny of majorities.

A Future Beyond Authoritarianism

For too long, we’ve treated urban and rural communities as though they exist in separate worlds, with cities holding the power and rural areas holding the resentment. This division is what authoritarianism thrives on, and it’s a direct threat to any democratic vision of America. We have to make the effort to create true equity in representation, to invest in each other as partners, and to challenge the idea that one area’s prosperity has to come at another’s expense.

If we continue down the path of pitting urban centers against rural America, we’re only opening the door wider for those who use fear and resentment to grab power for themselves. We’ve seen what happens when authoritarianism takes root: fewer voices, fewer choices, and a democracy that serves only those already at the top. Bridging this divide isn’t just about keeping rural America from feeling disenfranchised—it’s about keeping democracy alive for everyone.