SANDY HOOK, Ky. — A retired pipefitter, Reggie Dickerson of Sandy Hook, Kentucky worked in construction for three decades. He used to vote for Democrats in national elections but no more. Like in 2016, he again plans to vote for President Trump.

"When I grew up, the Democrat party represented the working man, the guy that got up five in the morning, drove an hour, an hour and a half to work. In this part of the country, you know we had to drive to Ashland or Portsmouth or Huntington or Lexington to work construction trades, building trades and the Democrat party always, you grew up thinking the Democrat party supported the working man," said Dickerson, describing the region as "the heart of the bible belt."

Dickerson says his cousin is the chairman of the local Republican party and has seen a rise in membership. 

"You know guns is an issue here. Abortion is a big issue here," he said.

The 55-years-old's story of feeling abandoned by the Democratic party sounds strikingly similar to many in Elliott County.

The day before the election, it was difficult to find a single county resident who supports Democratic candidate Joe Biden after spending several hours at Penny Mart, a popular local convenience store and restaurant in the center of Sandy Hook.

The Eastern Kentucky county is just a small slice of America with about 7,500 residents. Nearly 95% are white. Over the course of nearly 150 years, it never voted for a Republican for president prior to Trump.

"Things are so much different now from when I was a little girl and I want it back to that," said Robin Griffith, an elementary school teacher. Pushed on what she meant, Griffith suggested immigrants are gaining privileges ahead of American born citizens.

"Just like people coming into our country, taking it over. I guess that’s what you could say. I'll just put it out there then," she said.

"I got two sets of twin boys. I’m sending them to college. I went to college, paid my own way but now if you are an immigrant, you can come over here into the United States and get your college paid for," she added, detailing what she says she views at the local high school. 

There are more than a million college scholarships for young people to apply to study in America. Undocumented immigrants cannot legally receive any federally funded student financial aid but there are states like California and eighteen others that allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. Kentucky is not among the states.

In 2016, President Trump captured the favor of Democrats in Elliott County who identify as socially conservative.

"The national Democratic party has become more identified with liberal causes especially in the social issues realm and that runs counter to the culture of Eastern Kentucky and a lot of rural America but the Democrats were able to hang on in some places because they had such a strong heritage," said Al Cross, Director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky.

Cross says not all hope is lost for Democrats in even the reddest of regions if they refocus their message.

Of the 5,368 registered voters in Elliott County, 4,276 are Democrats and 860 are Republicans.

"Being a Democrat was part of your identity but as the party moved away from those people, they likewise moved away from it. When Donald Trump came along, it was somebody who embodied the feelings they had, perhaps the anti-elite feelings that I think were big drivers of Trump’s candidacy. They should go back to their economic roots and emphasize economic concerns. Those are still the primary concerns in poor counties like Elliott," he said.

But getting these Democrats back won't be easy and it will likely take some time. It's a difficult balance for Democratic leadership to strike. At a time when former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders is pledging to make the case for progressive issues under a potential Biden presidency, the party is hemorrhaging Democrats in rural areas that already feel the party has moved too far to the left.

Any support for Biden in Eastern Kentucky appears to be minimal but it exists.

Brandon Johnson, a logger in Rowan County, peers directly into Elliott County from his farm. Johnson didn't like the Trump administration's family separation policy or the President's handling of the novel coronavirus.

"He’s for the small farmer. Trump is for the big man. Biden is going to support the middle man, smaller farmers. And he’s not out just for the Republicans. He’s for both parties. I think he’ll do pretty good," he said.

When asked if there was anything the party or Biden could do to win back her support, Emilee Riggsby, a 24-year-old who works in probation and parole in Sandy Hook, suggested it was something she'd have to contemplate.

"I’m pretty Trump strong. I can't think of anything off of the top of my head. I'd have to sit and think," she said.