Epilogue. Believe What You Want.

Madison County, western North Carolina, voted resoundingly for Donald Trump. In an email titled, “What will become of our country?,” The Democrat Candidate for county commissioner, Judy Major, relays the news that neither she nor her Democratic running mate, Barbara Zimmerman, were able to unseat either Republican incumbent. Not a single Democratic candidate contesting a race in Madison County was successful. “Voter turnout was unusually heavy,” Judy writes, “and significantly Republican.” She describes the outcome at the national level as “devastating.”

Madison County is Christian and rural. Nestled into the Blue Ridge Mountains and stunningly beautiful, it was described to me as “the buckle of the bible belt.” Only sparrows outnumber the Baptists here, I was told. That it voted so enthusiastically for Trump was anticipated. The county has become increasingly Republican over the past few years.

To continue reading, please go to “Dispatches,” my reporting column on Substack.