An informal group called Rural for Hillary held its first meeting this week, on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday. The group, which is not directly affiliated with the Hillary Clinton campaign, has been laying groundwork for several months, building a list of supporters in rural communities, engaging food and agriculture groups, and pushing out pro-Clinton rural messaging on social media platforms — all aimed at bolstering historically weak support for Democrats among rural voters.
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The group’s first meeting was held at The Union League, one of the oldest social clubs in the country, with several dozen supporters, and a handful of speakers, including Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Dan Glickman, who served as agriculture secretary under Bill Clinton. The fledgling Rural for Hillary effort, which hasn’t formally launched, is being spearheaded by Trevor Dean, who was an agricultural adviser to Clinton when she was in the Senate, and Jon Cardinal, director of economic development for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who represents Clinton’s former New York seat. Both have volunteer policy roles with the Clinton campaign.
Other early organizers and supporters include: Vicki Hicks, vice president of government affairs at AgriBank; Pam Johnson, a farmer and past president of the National Corn Growers Association; Colleen Landkamer, a rural advocate and past president of the National Association of Counties; Ed King, a dairy farmer in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; Lee Beaulac, a rural development advocate and former chair of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition; and Roxiana Hurlburt, owner of Mercer’s dairy in New York, which makes wine ice cream that is exported across the globe. Pros, look for more on this effort later today.
Source: Politico
