Longtime Democratic strategist in Mass. leaves party, citing its failure to address rural concerns

Matt Barron

Matt Barron, a Democratic strategist who has often preached and written about the importance of rural voters to the party, has "left the party due to what he says is the party’s blatant failure to address rural concerns," Fran Ryan reports for the Daily Hampshire Gazette. "Barron, who has been a Democratic Party member for 41 years, including the last 18 years as chairman of the Chesterfield Democratic Town Committee, said the inaction by Democratic leadership in Boston toward smaller communities is concerning to him." 

Barron said the problem "is not confined to Massachusetts," Ryan writes. He said "across the country, a lack of basic rural electoral infrastructure for Democrats is giving Republicans a foothold in rural regions that had previously been Democratic." Barron told Ryan, “I did this after nine years of growing frustration at the inability of the party to compete for rural and white working-class voters. The results of the Nov. 8 election really drove this situation home to the entire nation.”

Barron told Ryan, “There is a lot that we can do, but the party needs to understand how far their money would stretch if they just put some into rural America." Barron said "targeting rural radio and newspapers must be part of the strategy," telling Ryan, “In rural America, it is less than $10 for a 60-second radio ad. That is like the price of lunch. They need to understand how cheap and cost-effective it is to reach rural people where they live.” (Read more)