Between March 26–29, 2020, RuralOrganizing.org commissioned a nationwide poll to gauge public opinion on issues of critical importance to all voters. In keeping with our mission and in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of rural voters, the research included an oversample of voters living in counties designated as rural, according to the USDA rural urban continuum codes. In our analysis, we refer to these voters as “non-metro.” [...]
New nationwide polling suggests that rural Americans don’t think President Donald Trump adequately prepared for the coronavirus outbreak. The poll, commissioned by RuralOrganizing.org, was conducted by Change Research on March 26-29th. While approval of President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus outbreak largely falls on partisan lines, the poll of registered voters also documents widespread concerns regarding Trump’s pandemic response that transcends partisan politics and geography. [...]
The United States Postal Service is one of the government’s oldest and most reliable entities - and that’s especially true in rural America. The Postal Service has long been a lifeline for rural communities. This week, Rural Organizing and MoveOne launched a petition that has quickly garnered over 200,000 signatures calling for action to save the Postal Service. However, because of the pandemic, the agency could run out of cash by the end of September if Congress fails to act and news reports indicate that President Trump blocked a bipartisan attempt to fund the agency. However, because of the pandemic, the agency could run out of cash by the end of September if Congress fails to act and news reports indicate that President Trump blocked a bipartisan attempt to fund the agency. [...]
Columbus, OH—In light of the humanitarian and economic crisis sparked by COVID-19, rural America needs bold and immediate action now!
The following is a statement by Matthew Hildreth, Executive Director of RuralOrganizing.org:
[...]
Rural America needs bold and immediate action to weather the humanitarian and economic crisis sparked by COVID-19. Rural people -- whether they are white, Black, brown, or indigenous -- are poorer, older, and experience higher rates of key risk factors when compared to the nation as a whole. This combined with diminished social safety nets, strained healthcare systems, and crumbling infrastructure means that rural communities will be shocked by the force of this pandemic—whatever the timing and geographic distribution of cases. While a historic crisis looms, rural America is still struggling to recover from the Great Recession, which hit rural communities harder, earlier, and longer than urban areas, and still lags behind in employment, child poverty, and life expectancy. [...]