In another nod to the importance of Pennsylvania to the 2024 presidential race, former President Donald Trump and his campaign launched “Rural Americans for Trump” on Thursday.
A statement released by the campaign reads “Rural America deserves a President that serves the interests of families in the Heartland and empowers them to be the most successful and prosperous versions of themselves.”
On its website – ruralamericans.donaldjtrump.com – the campaign states that Trump “did more for rural Americans than any administration in history and listed six separate accomplishments, including:
- Investing $1.3 billion to bring high-speed broadband infrastructure to rural America
- Investing $871 million to improve critical community facilities in 43 states and Guam
- Ended NAFTA
“President Trump has done more for rural Americans than any President and will continue to deliver for the people of this country, once we work together to ensure him a win back to the White House,” said Charles W. Herbster, national chair of the coalition and CEO of the Conklin Company, Inc.
“President Trump understands the critical role the United States’ rural and agricultural community plays in feeding not only its citizens, but the world. President Trump knows how important rural Americans are to powering the U.S. economy. I am excited to continue working with our agriculture and rural leaders across the county, and I am proud to stand with President Trump to defend the everyday rural American against Kamala Harris and the radical left.”
The Center for Rural Pennsylvania defines a county or school district as rural based on population density when the number of people per square mile within is fewer than 291.
Using this definition, 48 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties are rural with nearly 3.4 million residents, or 26 percent of the state’s population, calling them home.
The 19 counties that Pennsylvania considers urban include Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, Westmoreland, and York.
In 2020, 54 of the state’s 67 counties went for Trump with only Centre and Monroe among the defined rural counties backing President Joe Biden.
Loading ...
One Response
I chuckle at this. What exactly did Trump do for rural America the first time? I also chuckle when I see farmers supporting him.
Remember the China tariffs? He thought that China had to pay for them, but it was consumers who did, and many of them were farmers who had to pay higher prices for a variety of items.
I have tremendous respect for farmers. There is a tough life. However, they sometimes vote against their own interest.