Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday will unveil his ticket's plans to improve the lives of rural voters, as Vice President Kamala Harris looks to cut into former President Donald Trump's support.
A major portion of the plan, unveiled by the Harris campaign on Tuesday morning, is devoted to expanding rural health care, specifically recruiting 10,000 health care professionals to work in rural and tribal areas by expanding scholarships and loan forgiveness programs and providing a grant program to train and fund rural community health workers.
The proposal also calls for the expansion of rural telehealth services by permanently extending Medicare coverage benefits and doubling funding for telehealth, cutting the number of so-called "ambulance deserts" -- areas where people live at least 25 minutes away from an ambulance -- in half, and working to keep independent pharmacies and rural hospitals open.
Other aspects of the plan include previously mentioned pillars of Harris' economic plan, including expanding the child tax credit and creating new tax credits for small businesses.
It marks a concerted effort by the Democratic campaign to make a dent in the historically Trump-leaning voting bloc in the closing three weeks before Election Day. Trump carried rural voters by a nearly two-to-one margin in 2020, according to AP VoteCast. In the closely contested race, both Democrats and Republicans are reaching out beyond their historic bases in hopes of winning over a sliver of voters that could ultimately prove decisive.
On a DNC with reporters Tuesday, Jason Carter, the grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, called November's election an opportunity for the political parties to engage with rural voters “in a real way.”
“If you look at Donald Trump's actual agenda, the damage that it will do to rural Georgia is enormous and stands in stark contrast to what you have seen over the last several years, which is an unprecedented investment in rural America, and particularly In rural Georgia,” said Carter, referring in part to programs such as the bipartisan infrastructure bill that were signed into law under the Biden-Harris administration.
“What you have seen over the last several years with the Biden Harris team, and with Vice President Harris leading that charge, is unprecedented investment in broadband. $65 billion put in to connect rural people and rural voters to this new economy. You've seen a huge investment in infrastructure in a variety of places. And what you've seen at the same time again, Donald Trump replacing that actual substance with cultural sort of hot air nothingness,” argued Carter.
North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton was also on the call, and expressed concern over Trump’s promise to appeal the Affordable Care Act with “concepts of a plan” during the presidential debate last month.
“Since that debate, Trump's concepts have become clear. He and his MAGA running mate JD Vance, intend to repeal the ACA and gut protections for pre existing conditions, forcing people into high risk pools and causing the cost of care to skyrocket for the over 100 million Americans with pre existing conditions,” said Clayton. “Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden have fought tooth and nail to lower healthcare costs for everyone. Trump's project 2025 agenda would take us backwards.”
Walz announced the plan during a stops in Pennsylvania, one of the marquee battlegrounds of the 2024 contest. He is also starring in a new radio ad for the campaign highlighting his roots in a small town of 400 people and his time coaching football, while attacking Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
"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, which the campaign said will air across more than 500 rural radio stations in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. "Now Donald Trump and JD Vance, they don't think like us. They're in it for themselves."
The Harris-Walz plan calls on Congress to permanently extend telemedicine coverage under Medicare, a pandemic-era benefit that helped millions access care that is set to expire at the end of 2024. They are also calling for grants to support volunteer EMS programs to cut in half the number of Americans living more than 25 minutes away from an ambulance.
It also urges Congress to restore the Affordable Connectivity Program, a program launched by President Joe Biden that expired in June that provided up to $30 off home internet bills, and for lawmakers to require equipment manufacturers to grant farmers the right to repair their products.