Wed Oct 16 08:50:00 UTC 2024: ## Harris-Walz Campaign Unveils Rural-Focused Plan to Capture Trump Voters
**WASHINGTON** – Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday unveiled a plan aimed at improving the lives of rural voters, a move designed to chip away at former President Donald Trump’s support in the closing weeks of the election.
The plan, released to The Associated Press by a senior campaign official, centers on improving rural healthcare, bolstering the agricultural sector, and addressing economic concerns. It represents a targeted effort by the Harris-Walz ticket to reach out to a historically Republican voting bloc.
Key elements of the plan include:
* **Recruiting 10,000 new healthcare professionals** to rural and tribal areas through scholarships, loan forgiveness, and new grant programs.
* **Permanently extending telemedicine coverage under Medicare**, a pandemic-era benefit set to expire at the end of 2024.
* **Providing grants to support volunteer EMS programs** to reduce the number of Americans living more than 25 minutes away from an ambulance.
* **Restoring the Affordable Connectivity Program**, which provided up to $30 off home internet bills, and requiring equipment manufacturers to grant farmers the right to repair their products.
Gov. Walz, presenting the plan in rural Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, emphasized his rural roots and contrasted his values with those of 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 said in a new radio ad for the campaign, which will air across rural 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.”
Trump won rural voters by a nearly two-to-one margin in 2020, according to AP VoteCast. This new plan signifies the Harris-Walz campaign’s recognition of the importance of winning over rural voters in this tight race.
First Piper 