COMMENTARY: JD Vance speaks for rural America
Far too often, rural Americans feel ignored by presidential campaigns. While elites in Washington, New York and Los Angeles generate the headlines, focusing primarily on the two coasts, Americans outside major cities continue to fly under the radar.
This needs to change, and the 2024 election could be the turning point. Democrat or Republican, the side that appeals most to the man or woman in rural America is far more likely to win the White House. Deciding between the Trump-Vance and Harris-Walz campaigns, I’m putting my money on JD Vance to make that difference.
After all, Vance became a household name because of his best-selling 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” which delved deeply into the Appalachian values of his family from Kentucky and the socioeconomic problems of his hometown of Middletown, Ohio. From alcoholism to drug addictions and family strife, Vance beautifully illustrated the very real problems that affect so many Americans in “flyover country” — the places where millions of patriotic Americans still call home.
Like Donald Trump at the top of his ticket, Vance now embodies that voice for the voiceless, speaking out for farmers. Even liberals acknowledge Vance’s “rural roots” and his compelling story. Unsurprisingly, he makes a point on the campaign trail to address rural Americans specifically, knowing just how important farmers and other rural workers are to the economy.
Remember: Nearly 20 percent of Americans live in rural counties, and these counties are growing because Americans are increasingly embracing old-fashioned American values like hard work, individual responsibility, entrepreneurship and all of the innovation that comes with that. For decades, the Republican Party has been the party of the free market, and there are no better ambassadors than Trump and Vance.
On the other hand, Tim Walz is no ambassador for the American Dream. He has spent his entire career in government, living off the U.S. taxpayer while promoting policies that will undermine economic innovation. From tax increases to job-killing farm regulations, Walz and Kamala Harris intend to make government larger and larger.
In Minnesota, Walz routinely pushed for tax hikes on every segment of the population — from small-business owners, investors and middle-class families to higher earners. He went out of his way to spar with businesses and slam them with heavier tax bills rather than supporting these job creators and their employees.
While most states have cut taxes to encourage private investment and spur economic growth in recent years, Minnesota is the rare exception, largely because of Walz, who raised taxes despite a state budget surplus. A devoted labor union enabler, Walz has imposed dozens of new regulations on businesses, solidifying the Minnesota government as one of America’s most onerous bureaucracies.
Walz taught school in China and has been supportive of the Chinese Communist Party, even visiting the country dozens of times (including his honeymoon). Dating back to the sweeping Obama-era American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, he votes in lockstep with Democrats on burdensome environmental regulations that make it more difficult for farmers to sell their crops.
Just look at Minnesota, which small-business owners have fled due to Walz’s economic policies. To quote one Minnesota farmer, Walz has “done very little to help rural Minnesota,” turning the state into a “mini California” obsessed with social issues and identity politics.
JD Vance is the opposite, supporting traditional family values and trusting rural Americans to live free from government overreach. He has a strong track record of championing farmers as a designated Friend of Agriculture by Ohio Farm Bureau members, pushing back against Chinese competition in agriculture and opposing proposals such as the death tax, which can force family farms to liquidate to pay their taxes.
Vance and Trump don’t want a high-spending, high-tax America where left-wing social policies — policies that rural Americans reject — win the day. The numbers don’t lie: Since 2016, Trump has resounded exceptionally with rural voters, winning their support repeatedly by trying to make America great again.
Despite constant criticism from coastal elites, rural voters still stand by Trump, and their support will be stronger with Vance by his side.
There is only one ticket for rural America: Trump-Vance. The alternative — Walz’s radical left — would be much worse.
Joseph Semprevivo is a former business professor and best-selling author of “Madness, Miracles, Millions.” He wrote this for InsideSources.com.