Here’s How Rural And Small-Town America Can Resist Hostile Left-Wing Takeovers

Whatever the midterms bode for America, conservatives should pay particular attention to the left’s aggressive “rural ground game” and plan for a hostile takeover of rural and small town America. Organized leftist activists seem to have been colonizing rural communities socially and culturally as well as having their candidates win in low-turnout local elections. Rural areas have been losing population, yet President Trump won rural America by wide enough margins to overcome those losses. However, the ethnic demographics of rural areas are changing, in part through the intentional resettlement of foreign immigrants, as well as migrations of affluent white leftists into rural areas. As a conservative who took refuge in red rural America, I’ve been pondering the presence of leftist invaders from the blue suburban America I happily left behind. So I’ve come up with a check-list of some ways conservatives might push back. Downballot Races Trickle Up Too few understand that capture of local offices at the bottom of the ballot trickles up to the capture of offices at the top of the ballot. Local offices represent the farm team for higher offices. Local offices have a huge impact on your life, too. Few realize that the clerk of the circuit court is often the person signing their concealed-carry permits. The registrar of wills can appoint strangers to oversee your estate. Some rarely think how wokeness can infect law enforcement if they don’t vote for a good county sheriff. The county recorder generally manages the voter rolls, which can make or break any close election. And who are those judges on the ballot? Too many voters yawn over supposedly non-partisan races for school board. They forget how county boards and council members can raise taxes and promote socialist agendas. In some places, if you wish to be part of local party leadership, you must be elected, usually during the gubernatorial primary. (Scroll down to the bottom of this page to see how a primary ballot lists candidates running for their political party’s county central committees.) Most voters have no idea who those people are, so you can end up with GOP leadership with infiltrators posing as Republicans. Sometimes I think it would be a good idea to have our official ballots turned upside-down. Placement of lower offices at the top of the ballot would at least cause voters to pay more attention to them, thus discouraging voter rolloff. Recruit, and Leave No Seat Unchallenged If you know someone qualified who could fill a vacant seat for local office, speak to them about it! If you’re qualified and have fire in the belly, please run. For example, you might get elected mayor in a small town where you needed only 18 votes (out of 24 cast) to win. Don’t leave candidate recruitment to an anemic Republican Party leadership. Here’s the cautionary tale. In Virginia’s 2025 gubernatorial election, Democrat activists increased their statehouse slim majority of 51-49 to 64-36 overnight! They left not one of the 100 seats in the House of Delegates unchallenged. But Republicans left 16 of those 100 seats uncontested. Democrats could then focus their money and activist organizing on the tighter races. Republican leaders often shrug off concerns about uncontested races, saying they are “unwinnable.” That’s beyond stupid. Having a recruited “placeholder” on the ballot can at least stave off the demoralization of conservative voters who have no one even to vote for. Get Connected in Your Community Don’t allow leftists like Barack Obama to dominate civic engagement. In 2023, Obama unveiled his “Change Collective,” an initiative he expected to “develop, connect, and elevate changemakers across the country,” focused specifically on “local civic engagement:” It’s an excellent strategy, because, as Obama said, real change happens “one person, one community, one connection at a time.” Conservatives have a knack for doing this organically, while the left is doing so as an astro-turfed stopgap measure with an agenda in mind. So get connected. There are several fun and fulfilling ways for conservatives to network in their communities. Join a local service organization, such as Rotary, Ruritans, or Lions Club. This is often how leftists get their foot in the door politically. Another prospect for civic involvement is getting on local boards and commissions. Some are appointments by higher elected officials such as the Board of Elections or Planning Commission. But what about getting on a library board? Those boards can make or break trends such as Drag Queen Story Hour and porn acquisitions for children. Some communities have “Friends of the Library” organizations. There are also many other advisory boards for which you can volunteer in any given locality. They range from environmental issues to veterans affairs to landlord-tenant relations to children’s health. Smaller counties such as LaGrange County, Indiana or Butte County, Idaho will have far fewer boards and commissions than a large suburban county. Fuel Conservative-Owned Businesses If you’re a conservative looking to move to or retire in an idyllic rural spot, please help bolster the traditional community there by patronizing conservative-run businesses that preserve the culture. Leftists colonizing small American towns tend to open community-focused businesses, such as coffee houses, breweries, bakeries, wineries, and garden centers. They’ll also open book shops, art galleries, and yarn or pottery shops on Main Streets, USA, most of which cater to a Democrat mindset and Democrat candidates. As these businesses join the local Chamber of Commerce, they gain clout with local government, further pushing the district blue. So if you’re an enterprising conservative interested in opening a little café or bookstore in small-town America, please get started. And if you like to write, check out the possibilities at your local newspaper. Stand Your Ground Don’t turn your red state into a hopeless case like California by moving out prematurely. Conservatives who hope to stem that tide of leftist hostility by being annexed by a neighboring red state — such as Virginians in red, western counties who hope to “VEXIT” to West Virginia — should expect the same sorts of infiltration if such annexation happens. Standing one’s ground whenever possible is probably the best defense. That means good candidate recruitment and a focus on local elections. If you’re in a civic organization that’s been infiltrated, stay there and invite friends to join. Whether or not you’re a joiner, it’s important to know like-minded local conservatives who also hope to resist the takeover. Also, look out for realtors who promote the trend. Conservatives can also raise awareness of where the money is coming from to support local candidates. The Pamphleteer in Nashville built a tool to answer the question, “Who’s funding your council member?” Remember, invaders want you to leave because that shifts the needle bluer. Keep in mind that the recent ousting of a Republican incumbent in deep red Butler County, Pennsylvania, is an alarm bell regarding turnout. Stay put and do what you can to help turn out the vote, even if it’s just a couple of conversations to nudge like-minded neighbors. Ultimately, traction for the hostile invasion of rural America depends on the outcome of the midterms, which in turn depends upon conservative turnout. Stella Morabito is a senior contributor at The Federalist. She is author of "The Weaponization of Loneliness: How Tyrants Stoke Our Fear of Isolation to Silence, Divide, and Conquer." Her essays have appeared in various publications, including the Washington Examiner, American Greatness, Townhall, Public Discourse, and The Human Life Review. In her previous work as an intelligence analyst, Morabito focused on various aspects of Russian and Soviet politics, including communist media and propaganda. Follow Stella on Twitter. 2026civic engagementcivic involvementDemographicsdownballotground gamelocal businesslocal officelocal officialslocal racesMidtermsmigrationPoliticsred citiesRed Statesresettlementrural Americarural areasrural communitiessmall townsmall town Americaturnoutvoting