Article Summary –
Anderson Clayton, the chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, is advocating for a shift in rural voting patterns, emphasizing key issues such as abortion rights, public education, and general decency; she believes that these topics can persuade rural voters to support Democrats over Republicans. Clayton’s strategy includes running Democratic candidates in almost every district, aiming to break the long-standing Republican dominance and improve voter turnout in rural areas, which constitutes a significant portion of the state’s population. Her personal connection to rural communities reinforces her commitment, as she successfully flipped her own father’s political allegiance from Republican to Democrat, and she aims to achieve similar results statewide by emphasizing the benefits of Democratic policies and the failings of current Republican governance.
Anderson Clayton, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, lives in Roxboro, population 8,134, and seeks to sway rural voters to the Democratic side this November.
Despite her high-profile position, she’s determined to stay and help rural residents vote for Democrats.
Clayton aims to change 30 years of rural North Carolina voting Republican.
“We’ve got to chase every single vote this year…,” she told Cardinal & Pine.
“Rural North Carolina has a significant population…and they haven’t had Democratic representation for years due to gerrymandered maps.”
She acknowledges winning rural areas overnight is unrealistic but insists on long-term efforts.
Clayton, the youngest Democratic Party Chair in the country at 26, has nearly 3.5 million rural residents to persuade.
Clayton believes Democrats have a strong message for 2024 against ultra right-wing gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, who supports a six-week abortion ban.
“Abortion is the number one issue…,” Clayton said, emphasizing the need to protect reproductive rights.
Her strategy includes educating voters on various rights and public school improvements on the ballot.
Clayton’s path to leadership
After graduating from Appalachian State University, Clayton worked for Senators Harris and Warren, and Amy McGrath.
“I did the national campaign scene in 2020 and realized the national party wouldn’t invest in rural North Carolina,” she said.
Clayton returned to Roxboro, flipping three city council seats to Democrat.
She aimed to recruit candidates for every district in the state legislature in 2024.
In 2022, 44 seats were left uncontested; now Democrats are contesting 168 out of 170 seats.
Clayton hopes funds from the Infrastructure Law and the American Rescue Plan will benefit rural districts.
She believes North Carolinians deserve better than the Republican-led decade.
Clayton is optimistic about converting some rural Republican voters, critical in close races like the 2020 election where Trump won by 74,000 votes.
A personal touch
Clayton’s father, Mark, is one of the 3.5 million rural residents. He switched from voting Republican to Democrat, influenced by his daughter.
Mark Clayton, initially a Trump supporter, was convinced over four years to vote Democrat and is now running for office as a Democratic County Commissioner.
Clayton continues her efforts, supporting the Democratic ticket from gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein to local races, while remaining rooted in Roxboro.
“The thing that drives Republicans there the craziest is that I’m still there,” she said.
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