Rural Reasoning

By Kleinheider Posted on June 6, 2008 at 7:30 am

Southern Appalachian Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Padgett expands on his support for Barack Obama and advises the Illinois Senator to give rural voters a reason to cast their ballot for him:

“I’m a Democrat, first and foremost,” said Padgett, who drew many of his campaign workers from the ranks of Clinton’s formidable Tennessee primary organization. “Both of them were excellent candidates, but when the ballgame was over, the game went to Sen. Obama. It’s time to move forward now.”

Knox County was the only urban area in the state that didn’t swing to Obama during the primaries. Along with the majority of the rural counties in the state, the majority of its Democrats voted for Clinton.

Those voters, Padgett said, might be willing to give Obama a chance, if he gives them a reason.

“I wish Sen. Obama would make that appeal, not in the large cities, but in the rural areas,” he said. “Please notice that our rural areas are there, that they’re hungry for jobs…. These are a proud bunch of people. They’ll look you right in the eye and tell you, ‘We’ll make it, but we need help.’”

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