WATCH: Walz unveils Harris plan to improve lives of rural Americans

WASHINGTON (AP) — Minnesota Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz unveiled his plans Tuesday to improve the lives of rural voters as Vice President Kamala Harris seeks to limit support for former President Donald Trump.

Watch the event in our player above.

The Harris-Walz plan places an emphasis on improving rural health care, such as plans to recruit 10,000 new health workers in rural and tribal areas through scholarships, loan forgiveness and new grant programs, as well as economic and agricultural policy priorities. The plan was explained to The Associated Press by a senior campaign official on condition of anonymity ahead of its official release.

It’s a concerted effort by the Democratic campaign to make a dent in the historically Trump-leaning voter base in the final three weeks before Election Day. Trump had a nearly two-to-one lead among rural voters in 2020, according to AP VoteCast. In the hotly contested race, both Democrats and Republicans are reaching beyond their historical foundations in hopes of winning over a segment of the electorate that could ultimately prove decisive.

Walz, wearing a flannel coat and campaign camouflage hat, announced the plan during a stop in rural Lawrence County in western Pennsylvania, one of the key battlegrounds of the 2024 contest. He also stars in a new radio ad for the campaign, in which highlighting his roots in a small town of 400 and his time as a football coach while attacking Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

“In a small town, you don’t focus on politics, you focus on taking care of your neighbors and minding your own damn business,” Walz says in the ad, which the campaign says will air on more than 500 rural radio stations in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. “Well, Donald Trump and JD Vance don’t think like we do. You’re on your own.”

The Harris-Walz plan calls on Congress to permanently expand telemedicine coverage under Medicare, a pandemic-era benefit that gave millions of people access to health care and is set to expire at the end of 2024. They are also calling for a cut in grants that support voluntary EMS programs serving half of Americans who live more than 25 minutes from an ambulance.

It also calls on Congress to restore the Affordable Connectivity Program, a program created by President Joe Biden that expired in June that provided up to $30 off home internet bills, and to urge lawmakers to require device manufacturers to Giving farmers the right to repair their products.