One Country Project Releases Rural Voter Report Card: Democratic Field Scores D After This Debate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  

August 29, 2019

CONTACT: [email protected] 

One Country Project Releases Rural Voter Report Card: Democratic Field Scores "D" After This Week's Debate

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tessa Gould, Executive Director of the One Country Project, issued the following statement after this week's Democratic debates.

Today, the One Country Project (OCP) released a “Rural Report Card,” grading the field’s performance in the CNN Democratic Primary Debates this week. As 20 Democrats took the stage to make their case to the American people, they unfortunately did not appeal to a key constituency vital to beating President Trump – rural voters.

“We surveyed rural Obama-Trump voters prior to this week’s debates, asking what caused their seemingly sharp shift from President Obama and drew them to President Trump. They overwhelmingly shared that the President’s stance on immigration, his perceived deal-making ability, and his focus on jobs in their communities was the draw,” said Tessa Gould. “Given those benchmarks, we then compared candidates’ answers and quotes from this week’s debates. What we found? The entire field is coming up short. If the debates served as the final exam – the Democrats are barely passing and far from reaching the most important grade – 270.”

More on the report and methodology can be found here.

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About One Country Project  

The One Country Project, led by former Senators Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly, is working to promote greater opportunities for rural communities and ensure leaders earn their support. One Country is reengaging with rural Americans, serving as a clearinghouse of research and information for rural Americans, and working to ensure leaders regain trust by fighting for these communities. To learn more, visit the website, OneCountryProject.org.