Nobody Expected It to Work: Rebuilding Trust in Mohave County

By Diane McMahan, Chairwoman, Mohave County Democrats

It began with a simple house party.

After moving to Lake Havasu City, AZ, I invited my neighbors over for food, fun, and conversation. But the night left me shaken by the extremist views I heard, a jarring welcome to my new home. “What are you going to do about it?” I asked myself.

After joining my local Democratic party to get involved, I met an inspiring and motivating candidate for our Legislative District Representative position. Monica Timberlake, who later became the Democratic Chair of our neighboring county, became a fast friend. When I had an idea to do a teach-in series, I reached out to Monica to co–teach. She was the perfect person to share her communication skills and tips for deeper connections with people in our community.

After our powerful first session, we knew we needed to do more. Together we created a new organizing model, Rural Rising. We were two women in two rural counties with one big idea – that hostile and divided communities are not where our story ends. Our determination began a journey that has created friendships and collaborations across the country.

In August 2025, we launched Rural Rising Teach-In, a grassroots civic education series, in Mohave County.

In August 2025, we launched Rural Rising Teach-ins, a grassroots civic education series. Mohave County is divided by the Grand Canyon and is the second largest by land mass in Arizona and fifth largest county in the country. Rural Rising is nonpartisan in approach, but deeply rooted in Democratic values of informed civic participation and community engagement. We welcome people from different party affiliations and demographics because we know that we are neighbors first.

I began my service as Mohave County Chair with nine active precinct committee members. We now have over 80. We once had fewer than 20 active volunteers, but now we have more than 100. Together we are shaping our communities into vibrant cultures that bridge political divides.

The Rural Rising curriculum covers topics that are often difficult for people to talk about because they feel uncertain about their depth of knowledge or prefer to avoid conflict. These are topics that affect our everyday lives, including water, the economy, affordable housing, rural healthcare etc.

We begin with how to have conversations centered around values. Our first two modules cover conversational engagement and organizing to find common ground despite opposing viewpoints. We do not lead with platform, political affiliation, or debates on issues. We begin by asking meaningful questions and listening to answers with the heart of a neighbor.

From that foundation, we bring in experts to share their knowledge and experience so people can have informed conversations. We believe civic education leads to productive civic action. This training is a bridge to transforming people’s understanding of government, replacing fear and misinformation with verifiable facts and resources. It also changes disengagement into purpose-filled action.

In these rural communities, disengagement is evident in the number of elected offices that go uncontested for years, even decades. That’s why we tell our attendees how important it is to participate in local elections that have a great impact on our community and quality of life. Our goal is for a Democrat to run in every race.

To encourage participation, we created a pipeline. People come in as curious neighbors, join as volunteers, learn about our community and local issues, and then get connected within the community to run a successful bid for local or state office.

We also offer a gathering place both online AND in the community. With donor support, we opened a local office that has become a community center filled with neighbors hungry for connection with like-hearted people. We offer food, purpose, and honest dialogue. We align with local groups, including the Arizona Coalition, a volunteer group with a robust social media presence. As people’s confidence in our election system grows, they can see their own role in voter protection and outreach. Our communities become better places to live and work.

Rural Rising has found a sweet spot in bringing hope and excitement back into our communities. Our neighbors are finding their people, a discovery that, if you once felt like the only Democrat for miles around, is incredibly powerful. We now draw participants and rural organizers from counties across the state and country who see this model as their own path forward.

The Rural Rising model was recognized at the Democratic National Committee’s Western Regional Rural Forum as a replicable framework for organizing in deeply red and geographically isolated or divided communities.

While the work is not easy, we are spreading the word about the importance of finding common ground and using our civic powers to create better neighborhoods and communities. We have changed how to organize in rural red areas. While traditional canvassing also benefits from this conversational engagement model, the true change has been the amount of people who now come to us for connection.

Using our Rural Arc of Engagement model – from creating connection, to building a new sense of community, to becoming a trusted source of information – rural folks who once felt disengaged are now engaged in civic action. Elections are won in the margins. In rural America, we are those margins – and honest conversations between neighbors is how we win.

You can learn more or join the Rural Rising Teach-in series by going to our Mobilize event link. For more on the topic of civic conversations, see the Grassroots Connector article about The Common Ground Community of White Lake, MI.

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