by Lynlee Thorne, Political Director, Rural Ground Game
“I’m overwhelmed! We’ve never had so many people reach out to get involved!!”
“Hey, you know how I said we couldn’t find places for more than 12 of those big signs? I was wrong, when can we get more?!”
These are just two examples of the many texts, emails, and phone calls we have received over the past few months as rural Democratic leaders experience a groundswell of support and interest.
In rural communities across the country, the Project 2025 agenda is already being implemented. Books banned, LGBTQ+ students under attack, ugly but honest truths of our history covered up, funds for our public schools diverted to voucher schemes and private charter schools.
Rural Democrats are built different. They are some of the most determined, courageous members of our coalition and they know all too well what is at stake in this election.
This year, they are making themselves more visible than ever before, offering an outstretched hand to their neighbors to join us in saving our Democracy. Rural Democrats are having the most important conversations any of us can have, urging their communities to get serious about facing the climate crisis, taking on the bullies of corporate greed, and defending our most basic personal freedoms.
For years, we’ve been messaging on the policy implications of being a good neighbor, a familiar concept that resonates with many rural people.
Sen. Danica Roem has done an exemplary job of being a good neighbor by legislating like one. “Feeding kids and fixing roads” is essential, good policy that most of us can get behind (and it’s concise enough to fit on a yard sign!). We’re grateful to her for encouraging us to advance this message across rural Virginia and now into Pennsylvania, Michigan, and beyond.
Recently, we had an absolute blast delivering big, joyful signs designed in collaboration with Gibson Print to Democrats in every region of Virginia. We drove well over 5,000 miles in some of the most beautiful parts of the Commonwealth to connect with enthusiastic, fired up Dems from the Eastern Shore, to Southside, up and down the Shenandoah Valley, Northern Neck, and Southwest Virginia. We hope these pictures bring readers even a fraction of the joy and gratitude they bring us.
In the few remaining days of this election, we have a LOT more work to do to and many more voters to reach through our voter contact efforts, placing more billboards, newspaper ads, and videos like this one from our incredible grassroots volunteers working to amplify “Good Neighbors” message through our Storyteller Project.
You can see more of our work here:
https://www.ruralgroundgame.org/
Please consider supporting our efforts by contributing here.
Our deepest gratitude to the countless rural Democrats here in Virginia and across this country working so tirelessly to fight for their neighbors and get out the vote for Harris/Walz and Democrats down the ballot!
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