WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Democratic Congresswoman Cindy Axne defeated a Republican incumbent in 2018 even as she lost 15 of her district’s 16 counties. Axne won by offsetting her losses in rural counties with an overwhelming victory in urban Polk County. Despite that urban strength, Axne has returned again and again to those rural counties she lost.

Axne says that’s because people who supported her opponent deserve representation in Washington. That could be true, but her effort also could help answer the question of whether rural residents will vote for a Democrat who lavishes attention on their issues and repeatedly visits their communities. As one voter put it, “If you come personally, I’ll consider voting for you.”