U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris helps prepare hygiene kits at a medical clinic where the nonprofit NC Counts Coalition prepares and then delivers them to victims of Hurricane Helen in Charlotte, North Carolina, on October 5, 2024.
(Logan Cyrus/AFP)
Few issues have plagued Democrats as much as how — or even whether — to reverse their decline in rural and blue-collar America. Long gone are the days when the party was seen as the natural home of the working class. Now, the dominant narrative is that Democrats are a haven for the urban, highly educated elite, while the Trump-led GOP is making inroads with working-class voters of all races, threatening the coalition that has supported Democrats for decades.
With states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan on a knife’s edge in November, Democrats need every vote they can get. So, in today’s episode, we talk about the party’s relationship with rural voters. We have three guests who live and breathe rural America — and who strongly believe that many rural and working-class voters are not a losing cause for the Democrats, but could be captured if the party made serious efforts to win them over.
Jane Kleeb is the chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party and the author of Harvest the Vote: How Democrats Can Win Again in Rural America. Anthony Flacaventa is an organic farmer, co-chair of the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative, and co-author of The Nation’s Rethinking Rural column.
And in a special bonus segment, we spoke with Sarah Taber, the Democratic nominee for North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner, about her company and how she tries to unite the urban and rural people of her state.
Subscribe to The Nation to support all our podcasts
Can we count on you?
The future elections will decide the fate of our democracy and basic civil rights. The conservative architects of Project 2025 plan to institutionalize Donald Trump’s authoritarian vision at all levels of government if he wins.
We have already seen events that fill us with both horror and cautious optimism – throughout this, Nation was a bulwark against misinformation and a defender of bold, principled perspectives. Our dedicated writers interviewed Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders, exposed J.D. Vance’s right-wing populist appeals, and discussed the path to victory for the Democratic Party in November.
Stories like this one and the one you just read are vitally important at this critical juncture in our nation’s history. Now more than ever, we need insightful independent journalism with in-depth coverage to make sense of the headlines and separate fact from fiction. Donate today and join our 160-year legacy of speaking truth to power and raising the voices of grassroots advocates.
Through 2024 and what will likely be the defining election of our lifetimes, we need your support to continue publishing the insightful journalism you’ve come to expect.
thank you
Editors Nation
