The 4 “battleground” states  of Ohio, Florida, Virginia, and Iowa accounted for over two-thirds of all campaign events in 2012

In all 4 battleground states, presidential candidates—advised by the nation’s most astute political strategists—hewed very closely to population in allocating campaign events.  Candidates campaigned everywhere—big cities, medium-sized cities, and rural areas.  There is no evidence that they ignored rural areas or favored big cities in an election in which every vote is equal and the winner is the candidate receiving the most popular votes. 

Not only is there no evidence that presidential candidates ignored rural areas or concentrated on big cities, it would have been preposterous for them to do so.  There is nothing special about a city vote compared to a rural vote in an election in which every vote is equal.  When every vote is equal, every vote is equally important toward winning.