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The Harris-Walz plan includes a focus on improving rural health
care, such as plans to recruit 10,000 new health care
professionals in rural and tribal areas through scholarships,
loan forgiveness and new grant programs, as well as economic and
agricultural policy priorities. The plan was detailed to The
Associated Press by a senior campaign official on the condition
of anonymity ahead of its official release on Tuesday.
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.
Walz is set to announce the plan during a stop in rural Lawrence
County in western 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.
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