Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, unveiled Vice President Kamala Harris’s new plans for rural voters on Oct. 15 at a campaign stop in western Pennsylvania’s Lawrence County.
Harris’s proposal for rural health care involves using scholarships, new grant programs, and loan forgiveness to recruit 10,000 new health care workers in rural and tribal regions. It also involves policies to prioritize economic and agricultural interests. The pitch comes as former President Donald Trump’s lead is increasing in some national and battleground state polls, with three weeks to go before Election Day.
The plan calls on Congress to permanently extend Medicare coverage of telehealth benefits, which were offered to millions of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and will expire at the end of the year.
The campaign is also calling for grants to fund volunteer EMS programs to reduce the number of people who live more than 25 minutes away from an ambulance by 50 percent. It also plans to restore the Affordable Connectivity Program, which expired in June. Launched by the Biden administration, the program gave up to $30 off internet bills for those with household incomes at or “below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines,” or for Americans on certain federal assistance programs.
In addition, the Harris campaign said it will seek to ensure that farmers have the right to repair their equipment. It is asking Congress to require manufacturers to allow them to do that.
Rural voters have been trending further away from the Democratic Party, and that voting bloc was a key part of Trump’s 2016 victory over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Four years later, he won those voters by a nearly two-to-one margin, according to AP VoteCast. The Trump campaign has worked to galvanize those voters this year as well, hosting multiple rallies and events in rural communities throughout the “blue wall” battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Aside from the rural Pennsylvania rally, Walz has prepared a radio advertisement for stations in battleground states. The ad emphasizes that he grew up in a 400-person town, where he was a football coach. It also criticizes Trump and GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).
The ad will air on more than 500 radio stations in rural Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, and Georgia.
“In a small town, you don’t focus on the politics; you focus on taking care of your neighbors and minding your own damn business,” Walz says in the ad. “Now Donald Trump and JD Vance, they don’t think like us. They’re in it for themselves.”
“President Trump understands the critical role the United States rural and agricultural community plays in feeding not only its citizens but the world,” said Charles W. Herbster, national chairman of Rural Americans for Trump. “President Trump knows how important rural Americans are to powering the U.S. economy. I am excited to continue working with our agriculture and rural leaders across the county.”
Trump has also promised to ramp up U.S. energy production to lower cooling and heating costs for Americans, especially those in rural areas where fuel costs may be higher.
