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Voters in rural Ohio are key

Ohio’s 74,400 farms and numerous small towns are at the heart of what makes America great. They are also in a position to decide the winner of the presidential election in November.

Our next president needs to focus the nation on the more than 46 million people who live in rural America to help them achieve the promise of opportunity. Hillary Clinton has shown throughout her career in public service that she understands this necessity and as candidate for president, she has made it clear that she will make the nation’s rural communities a priority in her Administration.

Hillary Clinton’s rural bona fides date back more than 35 years ago in Arkansas, when as the state’s First Lady, she chaired a rural health committee that helped expand health care to isolated farm and mountain areas. As First Lady of the United States, she never forgot rural communities during her fight to establish the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and while promoting the Save America’s Treasures Program that invested in our nation’s historic properties, contributing to economic development throughout many rural communities. Then as a United States Senator from New York State, she made rural areas throughout the state a priority, listening to and working for dairy farmers, wine makers, small businesses, and manufacturers. To expand markets for agricultural goods and small businesses, she helped rural small businesses gain access to broadband to access markets around the world. She brought together producers from the rural Upstate region of the state with consumers from New York City and other metropolitan areas, helping to create farm-to-fork connections that are thriving today. And, most recently, as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton championed efforts to alleviate hunger and malnutrition in the rest of the world through the “Feed the Future” program.

It is clear in this election that only one candidate has a true understanding of the challenges and opportunities of rural America, and that is Hillary Clinton. While rural communities face many challenges, including lagging job creation, persistent child poverty, and struggling commodity prices, Hillary knows that rural areas also are home to many of the solutions to some of America’s greatest challenges. Much of the work of her career has been a preview to her focus on supporting these tremendous opportunities in order to create a more vibrant rural America. Over a year ago, Hillary released a comprehensive plan to strengthen rural America, including small towns in Ohio from coal country, to the farmers who she will work with to create innovative safety net solutions to address the slumping crop prices that are struggling to meet even the cost of production. Donald Trump has offered no vision for rural America, and did not even include anyone from Ohio in the rollout of his Agriculture Advisory Committee.

Hillary’s commitment is to build a foundation for all rural residents and families to succeed, including with policies that support the economic security and well-being of working families, improve access to quality, affordable health care, reduce the costs of college, expand training for pathways to good-paying employment, and connect all Americans to the opportunities of the digital economy. Hillary also has proposals to ensure coal communities are not left behind and investments are made in areas that have suffered persistent poverty. She has a plan to make investments and stand up to foreign countries like China that do not play by the rules in trade in order to strengthen America’s manufacturers, including rural manufacturers that currently employ over 200,000 Ohioans.

Hillary Clinton understands that all rural communities are unique, but that throughout Ohio, there are communities like those she represented in upstate New York. As president, Hillary will push to ensure that we are stronger together, so that people can work, and raise a family, and retire wherever they choose.

The votes of rural Ohio can be a critical factor on how the state’s electoral votes will be cast. We have a decisive voice on Election Day, and that’s why we’re supporting Hillary Clinton for president.

Fred Deel is a farmer and former director of the Ohio Governor’s Office of Appalachia. Joe Logan is an eastern Ohio farmer from Kinsman, who is currently serving as president of the Ohio Farmers Union.

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