It was a rural uprising—and it looks like it will remain that way (for now). We have yet to see the consequences that Republicans will have to deal with concerning their retreat from their promise to repeal and replace Obamacare, but that’s for another day. Out of the 100 fastest growing counties in the country, based on U.S. Census data, 93 broke for Trump. The counties that are usually Democratic bastions have seen a sharp decrease in their populations. Moreover, even in blue states, the fastest growing counties are firmly in the Trump column. One might say this development is big league (via Lifezette):
The latest population estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau make that starkly clear. Of the 100 counties of at least 10,000 residents that had the fastest growth rates from July 2015 to July 2016, 93 voted for President Donald Trump in November. Just six backed Democrat Hillary Clinton. The political leanings of the 100th, Matanuska-Susitna Borough in Alaska, are unclear because that state does not report presidential returns at the county level.Clinton won 26 of the 100 counties that lost population at the fastest rate. That is a higher share than her performance nationwide, when she carried about 16 percent of counties.
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Even in some blue sates, the fastest growth rates are in Trump counties. Clinton handily carried Washington State and Oregon. But the five counties in those West Coast states that made the top 100 all backed the president.
Yet, the publication did not something that could be ominous for the GOP in future elections. On paper, Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and El Paso areas will have enough votes to tilt the state leftward, so that’s something to keep on the radar.
The Trump phenomenon firmly has the white working class lockstep behind Trump, a voting bloc that numbers in the tens of millions. While Democrats have long boasted about their demographic advantage, it’s all in areas that don’t matter. So what if more Democratic voters come out of California? The state was going always going to the Democrats in the Electoral College. The point is we don’t decide our president by popular vote, which has been forgotten by the Left in their ongoing temper tantrum over Trump’s upset win over Hillary Clinton. Liberals thought there would be a Latino surge due to Trump’s rhetoric on the campaign trail. That didn’t happen. Moreover, the lion share of Hispanic voters live in states that aren’t competitive in national elections. We could have a scenario where if the GOP’s grip on the white working class remains this strong, Democrats could be facing an Electoral College nightmare. Yes, they could win the popular vote by a larger margin than Clinton, but still lost the election because the rural counties are able to run up the score thanks to Democratic counties losing their strength statewide.
The Democrats’ path out of the wilderness is staring at them right in the face. It’s reconnecting with white working class voters on jobs, pension protection, and infrastructure. Yet, that means sacrificing the transgender bathroom advocacy, the safe space antics, the political correctness, the endless lectures on race, and putting Black Lives Matter on the backburner. The Left pretty much has to set aside the core tenets of the progressive agenda that’s been dictated by urban-based elites. This is going to be a long road to recovery—and I don’t think liberals want to reach out to a vast group of voters they shun and view with revulsion.
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