From left: Eve Gray, Hancock County Chair and Secretary of the Rural Caucus, Collin Docterman, Scioto County Chair and Special Counsel to the Caucus, also a member of the Ohio Democratic Party State Executive Committee representing Senate District 14, Craig Swartz, former Wyandot County Chair (resigned as Chair as he is a candidate) and President of the Rural Caucus, and William Washington, Political Director of the Sherrod Brown campaign. (Photo provided)
BY Sherry Larson
People’s Defender
The Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) Rural Caucus with Southwest Ohio and the Greene County Democratic Party met on June 1, 2024. Adams County Democratic Party Chair Linda Stepp attended the conference at the Foundry Theater at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
In rural Ohio, there are far more registered Republicans than Democrats. Bestplaces.net reported, “In Adams County, Ohio, in the last presidential election, 17.8% of people voted Democrat, 81.3% voted Republican, and the remaining 1.0% voted Independent.”
In a May 2024 New York Times opinion piece, Farah Stockman interviewed Chris Gibbs, a soybean farmer, former Republican Party chairman and later Democratic Party chairman from Shelby County, Ohio, where Republicans outnumber Democrats 8-to-1. The premise of the article is that Democrats have an opportunity to reposition themselves as the party of freedom. The article states: “‘In today’s Republican Party, you either speak with the voice of Trump or you vaporize,’ Mr. Gibbs told me. We talked one recent evening in his Maplewood garage after searching his pasture for newborn calves. (We found three.) ‘In the Democratic Party, everyone has a voice. You don’t always get your way, but you have a voice.'”
The ODP recognized the Rural Caucus in July 2023. Stepp attended some virtual meetings when Matt Young was the party’s chairman and was unable to attend. At the time, the group was in the process of drafting and drafting its constitution. The Southeast region is also in the process of forming a caucus. Stepp said, “We’re kind of in the middle. The Southeast is a little more rural.” Stepp explained that the ODP’s definition of rural districts includes 77 districts.
After the welcome, greetings and introductions, participants moved to the breakout sessions. Options included:
• Public Banking with Rural Caucus, presented by Rural Caucus Chair Craig Swartz of Wyandotte County
• Democrats 101 with Representatives Joe Miller and Tim Benford
• Organizing youth elections with the Wood County Young Democrats
The focus of the “Democratic Mission 101” session was “focusing on the core American values that form our shared identity and on the vision of the future that represents our common goal” and calling for “a just society… for as long as it takes.”
Stepp said the session on public banking was interesting. She had never heard of it before, but learned that North Dakota has had a public bank since 1912. Public banks are owned by the government and focus on funding policy goals to meet the specific needs of the community.
Young Voter Organizing, presented by Wood County Democrat Lauren Bacon-Grounds, was Stepp’s favorite session. Stepp said that while young people were present, they were in the minority. Several candidates from the various counties were young. Stepp giggled as she recounted a conversation she had with a younger candidate. She talked about the Grange and the influence it once had on rural county organizing. The candidate asked her, “What is that?” Stepp said, “It makes you feel really old.”
Bacon-Grounds stressed that young voters are online. But she did not rule out newspapers. Stepp concluded: “Use your local newspaper if they have articles online. If newspapers have articles online, you can share them.” The point is that newspapers have a much wider reach when their newspaper is available on the Internet.
Stepp found Bacon-Grounds’ presentation particularly helpful in showing attendees the most effective social media platforms and tools and explaining the differences between text and email campaigns. She also talked about the importance of low-budget fundraising, considering that the median income of Generation Z (ages 12-27) is $37,300 and the median income of Millennials (ages 28-43) is $47,034.
Look for the Adams County Democratic Party at the Adams County Fair. They will officially man their tent starting Monday, July 8th from 4-8 p.m. Be sure to stop and ask questions of party members and local candidates – use your voice.
