Dems venture to traditionally GOP regions

updated 3:24 p.m. ET June 11, 2008

DELAWARE, Ohio - Housing tracts in farm fields aren't the only odd sights showing up in spreading exurbs like this one north of Columbus. Democrats are venturing out here, too, giving the party hope it can win battleground states by at least diluting these local Republican strongholds they know they can't win outright.

"It's still pretty shaky because it's a new idea. Democrats in Delaware County is a real new idea," says Linda Shearer, a gallery owner and Democratic activist. "The law of averages would point out that even if you win over one or two people, you have to start at the grass roots."

National Democrats, sensing an opportunity, have started sending campaign workers into these fast-developing areas, where Democrats got blown out in 2004.

"The exurb counties are going to be critical," says Ed Helvy, chairman of the Democratic Party here in Delaware County. Four years ago, he says, John Kerry steered clear of such areas, "thought he could just grow the base and win the election and that didn't happen."

Nationwide, exurban areas — far-flung residential areas out beyond the traditional suburbs — grew about 31 percent during the 1990s, according to a Brookings Institution analysis. That's twice the rate of their respective urban centers. Delaware County grew by two-thirds in that decade, according to the Census Bureau. Between 2000 and 2006, the county increased 43 percent.

Developers in Delaware County have bought farm fields and built compact neighborhoods of similarly designed homes on tiny lots, separated from other developments by more farmland. Mom-and-pop retailers struggle to keep up with chain stores, such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy, that pop up in the sprawling fields.

Challenging reliably red states
Democrats see a spread from nearby Columbus as a key to their success, as state employees roll down Interstate 71 to work during the day and return to sleep in residences on cul-de-sacs and in farmhouses at night. This town, where a main street is filled with family owned businesses and Ohio Wesleyan University students, also is home to big-box manufacturing facilities that have sprouted up in former fields.

It's like other fast-growing areas that are filled with new developments as farmers find housing tracts more valuable than corn, and families turn away from the traditional and sometimes decaying suburbs.

So Democrats in battleground states and those that are less competitive have sent resources into these places. Reliably red Indiana added a Democratic spokesman to challenge the Republicans who control the governor's office and the state House.

Video McCain’s voter hunt June 10: John McCain is courting Hillary Clinton’s voters, even posting a picture of the two rivals on his official blog. Will it work? Dan Abrams is joined by talk show host Jerry Springer, Democratic strategist Tonya Acker, MSNBC political analyst Pat Buchanan and former Romney press secretary Kevin Madden. Verdict with Dan Abrams

In Kentucky, a state President Bush carried by 20 percentage points in 2004, the Democratic National Committee funded three staffers' salaries.

"In 2006, we took back a congressional seat, against all odds, away from a 10-year Republican incumbent," said Tim Longmeyer, chairman of the Louisville Democratic Party. "If you can cut loss margins in certain areas and pull out Democratic voters in areas that haven't really been tapped in recent years and increase the margins of wins, you can flip them."

There's similar long-range planning in Mississippi, where the state party used to have just one staffer. The DNC funded four new full-time positions and took back the state Senate in 2007.

Mississippi Democrats, who saw Kerry lose by 19 points in 2004, won four of five special elections in state legislative races during the past two years but still recognize it's unlikely they will turn the state to Barack Obama.

Video Sexism, money, and politics June 11: From sexism in media coverage to Obama's refusal to accept money from lobbyists and special interest groups, DNC Chairman Gov. Howard Dean, weighs in on the issues affecting the Democratic party and predicts the main issue that will dictate the election. Morning Joe

"We've been able to go into 70 counties and do training and identify new volunteers who are willing to work for the purpose of the party and the campaigns," said Keelan Sanders, executive director of the Mississippi Democratic Party. "There are counties that people view as heavily Republican, but we're working to give them reinforcements."

Democrat Travis Childers beat Greg Davis in a special election in May to replace Mississippi Republican Roger Wicker, who served in the U.S. House since 1994 and was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat vacated by Trent Lott. Childers' win gives him the chance over the next several months left in the seat's two-year term to raise money and gain publicity as he heads into November's general election.

MORE FROM

Section Front

Obama campaign head gets big book deal Officials turn down Franken request Joe the Plumber to become war correspondent Franken lead at 49 with absentees left to count Minn. Senate winner won't be known in 2008 First Read: 'Twas the seventh week of recount... Franken opens first lead in Minn. Senate race Mom of Palin daughter's boyfriend arrested Minn. court weighs rejected absentee ballots Minnesota panel reviews disputed ballots Section Front   Add headlines to your news reader: