Politicosociopsychobabble

One meaning of "conservative" is someone who thinks that whoever is in control, they're doing a reasonable job. So rather than needing to control all of the media, just making yourself look like you're on top probably goes a long way with small-town America: That is, wear a smart tie, talk a good talk, look like you're a news gatherer with money to burn. Maybe the main difference of these smaller non-metro places is that the populations are smaller and so the variety of occupations there is less (you either pick vegetables or you work at the Walmart), and so just from lifesyle you end up with a populace that is less segmented and more networked. When the herd instinct kicks in then, perhaps that gives you the whole community thinking one way, rather than just segments of it...as well as more voters in one swoop, perhaps, than you might get by propagandizing a metro bowling league or inter-metro interest group.