Salisbury and Rowan County are small potatoes when it comes to presidential elections. Why would the GOP vice presidential candidate, Mike Pence, bother to campaign here, as he did on Monday? Why not go where the big crowds are, such as Charlotte or Raleigh?

The answer: Both parties are working hard to get out the vote. When it comes to Republicans, their greatest support is in rural communities like Rowan County. GOP operatives want to get as many rural conservatives to the polls as possible to counterbalance and, they hope, exceed the heavily Democratic vote that turns out in metro areas.

Politically, we are a nation divided, and experts say the nature of the divide has shifted from regional or racial to urban vs. rural. Journalist Bill Bishop expounded on this shift in his 2008 book, “The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart.” For years, America has become more polarized. “What had happened over three decades wasn’t a simple increase in political partisanship,” Bishop said, “but a more fundamental kind of self-perpetuating, self-reinforcing social division.” We all live in echo chambers, communicating primarily with people who share our views, making it harder and harder to understand people who take a different point of view.

Rowan County is a Republican stronghold. But the people at Monday’s rally were from other ZIP codes too — Durham, Gastonia, Lexington, Mocksville. An event featuring a presidential or vice presidential candidate has tremendous drawing power. And Pence has the ability to reassure voters about the top of the ticket. The Indiana governor is solidly behind Donald Trump and can sooth doubters who are not so sure. “Come home,” Pence said.

What he really meant was, “Go vote.” The election has started. Some 60 percent of North Carolina voters cast ballots before Election Day 2012. There’s no reason to wait, now that this year’s early voting has started — if you know who you want to support all the way down the ballot. When it comes to Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton, minds are made up. What matters now is who gets more of their supporters to the polls.