Rural advocacy group releases statement on midterm elections

The Nov. 8 midterm elections impacted rural America, according to a statement from Rural Voices USA, a nationwide network of rural leaders that speaks for rural communities and farming families.

“This election carries lessons for both parties in rural America,” Chris Gibbs, Rural Voices’ board president, said in a news release, commenting on the current results of the midterm elections.  “For Democrats, while there were bright spots, the election was more survival than victory. This election was a reminder that the Democratic brand continues to suffer in rural America.”

Gibbs pointed to Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat who ran for the U.S. Senate representing Ohio. “A genuine champion of rural and working-class families, [he] was weighed down by the party’s image and its refusal to show-up and invest election resources in rural counties,” Gibbs said in the release.

On the other hand, in Pennsylvania, where Rural Voices’ Pennsylvania steering committee spread the message about President Biden’s work to invest in broadband and other infrastructure, “we saw real gains in rural votes that contributed to Senator-elect Fetterman’s victory,” Gibbs said in the release.

Discussing the other side of the aisle, “For Republicans, the election was a reminder that candidate quality matters, even in rural strongholds,” Gibbs said in the statement. “Election deniers and other extremists are a threat to American democracy, and hopefully, these results reinforce that fundamental truth. We suspect Republicans won’t make the same mistake again, which makes Democrat’s task of showing-up in rural counties even more pressing.”

Rural Voices is a 501 (c)4 non-profit bipartisan organization dedicated to ensuring the voices and views of rural Americans are heard in policy debates impacting their lives. By championing pro-growth rural policies, the organization fights for farmers and small businesses, which it calls the backbone of rural America.