I don’t take the 2008 election to be indicative of rural Illinois at all. Many were enamored with the idea of voting for the first Black president.
That’s gotta sting.
I remember that election well. I cried. I was in DC and watched otherwise intelligent people tell me that a Cook County Democrat would make America a beautiful, happy place again.
I said, “Look what they’ve done for Cook County.” They wouldn’t listen. Now, here we are.