Over the last couple decades, rural Ohio has turned into a reliably Republican part of the country, but there are a couple blue dots in that big red sea.
Take, for example, Shelly Hayes. She lived in Waterville, a small town in Northwest Ohio, as a 鈥渃loset Democrat鈥� from 1985 until 2007. She remembers those years fondly; her kids and her church community kept her busy. Then, one day, she met a bunch of other Democrats.
鈥淚 still remember that first experience of sitting in a room full of Democrats and I just remember getting chills,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was just like oh my gosh, this is amazing to sit here and to talk with people and to talk freely.鈥�
From then on, Hayes was more open about her politics. She volunteers on Democratic political campaigns, she鈥檚 a precinct captain, and she鈥檚 a co-founder of the Women鈥檚 Democratic Caucus of Rural Northwest Ohio.
Hayes said she鈥檚 tired of Democrats being maligned by Republicans and calling themselves the party of family values, 鈥渂ecause evidently Democrats don鈥檛 have family values?鈥�
She joked that she feels like she needs to decorate her front yard with 鈥渁 cross, a tank, and a flag to say yes, I鈥檓 an American, I stand with my military and no you can鈥檛 claim Jesus because he belongs to everybody and he loves everybody and we do love our families!鈥�
Hayes and her good friend Dorothy Singer founded the Women鈥檚 Democratic Caucus of Rural Northwest Ohio together after they both worked on the failed Congressional campaign of Democrat John Michael Galbraith. Singer lives in an even more rural part of the state, about seven miles outside of Defiance, an area that hasn鈥檛 voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964 when Lyndon Johnson beat out Barry Goldwater.
The biggest event of the year in Defiance is the annual Halloween parade. Singer and the rest of the Defiance County Women鈥檚 Group dressed up as suffragettes and walked alongside a 1940 Ford truck.
They were having a great time until someone leaned into the microphone and yelled 鈥淟et鈥檚 Go Brandon!鈥� That鈥檚 the shorthand slogan among some Republicans for an obscenity aimed at President Biden
Singer says that wasn鈥檛 all they heard that night.
鈥淭hey started harassing us because we鈥檙e Democrats saying kind of nasty stuff to the women too, like just go home you should be barefoot and pregnant,鈥� she said.
Incidents like that are, Singer said, pretty common. Pro-Trump and anti-Biden signs are a staple of the rural landscape, Singer said, but there was also the gas station down the street from her home that used to have 鈥淟et鈥檚 go Brandon鈥� scrolled across its electronic sign. And there was also a pickup truck that used to drive around town waving a flag that featured an obscenity aimed at President Biden.
鈥淭he problem is gerrymandering. The problem is if you鈥檙e in such a foolproof, safe district you don鈥檛 have to listen to any of your constituents.鈥�Ed Singer
鈥淚鈥檓 wheeling my little granddaughter in her stroller and I was covering her little eyes, not that she can read but it鈥檚 the idea,鈥� Singer said. 鈥淲hy would you do that?鈥�
People in her community feel comfortable acting that way because it鈥檚 understood that almost everyone is a Republican, she said. When she worked in an office, she never discussed politics with her colleagues. When she taught Sunday school at a Catholic church, one family took their daughters out of her classes. Democratic yard signs often get stolen - or slashed. As for running for office, Singer said Democrats don鈥檛 stand a chance.
鈥淭he ladder is greased if you鈥檙e a Republican,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what the other metaphor would be but they鈥檙e gonna put little tacks on the road in front of your car if you鈥檙e a Democrat. I mean if you want to run for office here you鈥檇 have to be a Republican.鈥�
But there are other Democrats out there. She and her husband Ed operate a letter writing campaign to the local paper and they鈥檒l hear back from community members, albeit discretely.
鈥淧eople come up quietly and whisper in our ear that they liked our letter,鈥� she said.
There are also the folks that invite them in when they go canvassing or talk their ear off when they phone bank, relieved to finally hear from some fellow Democrats.
Ed Singer said he doesn鈥檛 mind. Finding new Democrats, convincing them to register and go out and vote are part of what keeps him motivated. A retired professor with a PhD in rural sociology, he cares deeply about the environment, issues around economic and social inequality, and good governance.
As for American political polarization, the kind that deeply divides neighbors and even families, he believes the fault is not with individual voters.
鈥淚 think the people who are responsible for the mess we have in terms of what we experience as polarization are our leaders who say lies and they do deliberately because they鈥檙e opportunists, 鈥渉e said. 鈥淭hey want to get elected and it鈥檚 just a terrible irresponsibility on their part.鈥�
The Singers don鈥檛 just write letters to the local paper. They also regularly write and call many of their local representatives, only they rarely hear back. Ed Singer said rural Democrats are so outnumbered, their representatives don鈥檛 have to pay attention to them.
鈥淭he problem is gerrymandering,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淭he problem is if you鈥檙e in such a foolproof, safe district you don鈥檛 have to listen to any of your constituents.鈥�
Despite the hardships that come with being a Democrat in rural Ohio, Dorothy Singer said she can鈥檛 imagine living anywhere else. She cares for her community, she appreciates the local arts scene, she dislikes city traffic and loves nature.
As for Ed, he is less attached to their rural community, but he 鈥渨ill live where Dorothy lives鈥�.
Disconnected Democracy is a collaborative project of the Ohio Newsroom. We'd love to hear your thoughts on the project. Send us an email.
is a formal collaboration of Ohio鈥檚 network of public radio newsrooms that creates a sustainable model for statewide news coverage, including stories that may not have otherwise been told.
Copyright 2022 WKSU. To see more, visit .
