FIRST ON FOX— The Democratic National Committee (DNC) plans to focus much of its campaign efforts on winning over rural voters in the 2026 midterm elections, according to the party’s outgoing chairman, Jaime Harrison.
Harrison previewed the new strategy exclusively to Fox News Digital ahead of the DNC’s slated vote Saturday to select his successor as next party leader. The aim is to tie President Donald Trump more closely to policies and make the case to voters directly that Trump is “using rural America and giving rural voters nothing in return.”
The DNC’s effort will focus on issues such as healthcare coverage and medical providers, both of which have suffered “major” disparities in rural America. Many Republican-led states that did not opt to expand Medicaid saw wide hospital closures, higher out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions, and limited access to opiod recovery or substance abuse programs.
Rural communities are also seeing more limited access to doctors, emergency treatment centers, and a lack of access to important medication as Biden-era programs wane. These changes will have a detrimental impact on rural America, Harrison said.
The strategy also involves painting a picture for the American people of all the things that they rely upon, including programs funded by the federal government, which are in jeopardy under the Trump administration. The DNC will spell out to voters what will happen if these policies are rolled back, in accordance with Trump’s plans.
Harrison acknowledged that changing hearts and minds will not happen overnight and that it will require many conversations from state party leaders at the local level to identify key issues for voters and help recruit good candidates for the upcoming election cycle.
The goal is to explain to voters how Trump’s drastic cuts or reductions will impact their communities specifically, and to recruit candidates who are well-positioned to speak to the communities they are representing. By doing so, the DNC hopes to put itself on a much stronger foot going into the 2026 midterm election.