In North Carolina, progressive activists reach out to rural voters as an overlooked segment of the electorate. Why you can trust us By Amanda Abrams 7 MIN READIt’s Nov. 1, and Precious Cogwell is canvassing in Alamance County, North Carolina, encouraging people to go to the polls the next day. You’re not going to overcome the racial divide very easily.”Indeed, Anthony Flaccavento, a resident of rural Virginia who established the Rural Progressive Platform and ran for Congress in 2018, chalks up his loss to the deep partisan divide. He’s created a new organization, the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative, that trains liberal organizations in communicating with rural residents. But the upshot is the same: conversations with rural residents that aim to connect on an emotional level, as a way to find common ground.