Eighth in a series on the Texas Triangles.
“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money,” said Margaret Thatcher, according to the American Enterprise Institute. With great caution, I would add that a problem with any form of government other than a constitutional republic is that it’s second-best. For example, “Participatory democracy is a great idea, but most people don’t have the time for it.” Therein lies the genius of a republican form of government. We elect people to represent our views and do the work of government. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t. However, representative government demands citizen participation through the vote.
Rural areas often show higher voter turnout rates per capita and tend to have more civic participation and community ties, which can motivate voting. Also, smaller populations may make each vote feel more impactful. Barriers such as longer voting wait times, more transient populations and less community engagement can suppress urban turnouts.
In the 2024 election cycle, these trends held in Texas. Rural counties have maintained relatively stable voter participation. In the 2024 primaries, rural counties experienced a modest decline of about 1.5 percentage points in early voting turnout compared to 2020. According to KERA News, this contrasts with more significant drops in urban centers. Urban areas like Harris (Houston), Bexar (San Antonio), Dallas and Travis (Austin) counties saw sharper declines in early voting turnout. For instance, early voting participation in these counties fell from 11.4% in 2020 to 8.1% in 2024.
Higher turnouts in rural areas might be attributed to several factors. Rural communities often have tighter-knit social structures that foster greater civic participation and accountability to one’s neighbor. Texas rural areas have shown strong support for Republican candidates. Governor Greg Abbott secured nearly 64% of the Republican vote in the West Texas Food, Fuel and Fiber Triangle. According to Politico’s analysis, he picked up slightly over 47% of votes in the Megaregion Texas Triangle.
Voting patterns are often the result of public trust, or its lack. Rural Texans generally exhibit lower trust in government institutions than their urban counterparts, yet they vote more often. A 2025 study found that less than 10% of rural respondents reported “a lot” of confidence in government information, whereas nearly 30% of urban respondents’ confidence was higher. This disparity in government trust may stem from rural residents’ greater reliance on themselves and local sources for solving problems and skepticism toward centralized authorities. Despite these differences, a shared sentiment across both rural and urban communities is the perception that the lawmakers we elect to do government work are out of touch with the concerns of “real people.” This commonality suggests many Texans feel disconnected from political leadership regardless of geographic location.
Trust in information sources also varies between rural and urban Texans. Urban residents tend to place higher trust in doctors, scientists and government communications. In contrast, rural residents trust informal networks such as family, religious institutions and community leaders.
Efforts to bridge the trust gap are challenging. One such initiative is being undertaken by the Texas Judicial Council’s Public Trust and Confidence Committee, which aims to improve court access and enhance transparency. The Committee’s recommendations focuses on expanding civics education, improving court accessibility and fostering community engagement to bolster confidence in the judicial system in rural and urban areas.
Historically, rural communities in Texas and across the U.S. have exhibited higher volunteering rates than urban areas due to tight-knit social networks and a culture of mutual support, reports Scienta. However, recent studies indicate that rural giving of time has diminished. By 2015, the gap in volunteering rates between rural and urban areas had largely disappeared. This shift is attributed to various factors, including economic challenges in rural areas and changes in community dynamics.
Despite these changes, rural residents still engage in informal acts of neighborly assistance at a higher rate than urban neighbors which may not be captured in formal volunteering statistics, according to The Points of Light Foundation. Additionally, rural volunteers are more likely to commit to regular volunteering activities with and through local churches and schools. Differences in broadband access affect both triangles, and the gap is closing. According to County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, 87.2% of the households in the food, fuel and fiber triangle have broadband access, while in the Megaregion Texas Triangle, 91.5% have broadband access.
Although it cannot be proved, Abraham Lincoln said, “I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.” Nonetheless, it is a concept that makes a constitutional republic work and is alive in much of Texas. I argue that it is especially true in the West Texas Food, Fuel and Fiber Triangle. The production of commodities seems to demand the Lincolnesque perspective of a two-way pride based on individual initiative, a willingness to take risks and the propensity to belong to something larger than self.
This should be the goal of all higher education. It is our goal at WT, and it requires appreciation and participation in the flawed but as-close-to-perfect-as-you-can-get form of government that sustains us.
Walter V. Wendler is the President of West Texas A&M University. His weekly columns, with hyperlinks, are available at https://walterwendler.com/.
