The vast majority of votes for both parties come from places that are clearly more urban than they are rural. Even now candidates don't turn up in rural areas to squeeze more votes out of them (not usually, anyway). They turn up in rural areas to project an image of themselves, to connect with an imagined, er, "real America", haha. And they'd continue to do this even if the electoral college was abolished.
For Presidential races, I agree, with the (sole?) exception of the Iowa Caucuses, which are so absurd that they belong in their own category.
