Erica Etelson

Erica Etelson is a cofounder of the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative and the author of Beyond Contempt: How Liberals Can Communicate Across the Great Divide.

Activists outside the office of US Representative Jeff Hurd (R-CO) in response to proposed cuts to Medicaid, on May 21, 2025, in Washington, DC.

Republicans’ “Big Beautiful” Medicaid Cuts Spur Rural Organizing Innovation Republicans’ “Big Beautiful” Medicaid Cuts Spur Rural Organizing Innovation

Taking away healthcare coverage isn’t just “morally wrong and politically suicidal,” in Senator Josh Hawley’s apt phrase. It’s also putting pressure on rural members of Congress.

May 30, 2025 / Erica Etelson

California farmers face an uncertain financial future as the Trump administration's tariffs threaten to upend fruit and vegetables exports of fruits and vegetables and increase prices of farming equipment.

Rural Trump Voters Won’t Regret Their Vote Until Democrats Fight for Them Rural Trump Voters Won’t Regret Their Vote Until Democrats Fight for Them

Taking away healthcare coverage isn’t just “morally wrong and politically suicidal,” in Senator Josh Hawley’s apt phrase. It’s also putting pressure on rural members of Congress.

Apr 23, 2025 / Erica Etelson

View through Montana ranch entrance to rangeland with a view of central Montana shows snow covered Crazy Mountains in the background. The Crazy Mountains rise to over 11,000 feet and are located north of Interstate-90 between Billings and Bozeman Montana; they can be seen for many miles along this stretch of Interstate.

Welcome to Bozangeles! Welcome to Bozangeles!

The greater Bozeman, Montana, region has become ground zero for rampant luxury development that is taking the “public” out of public lands.

Mar 27, 2025 / Erica Etelson

Shoppers browse the Trump Store at the Kansas GOP Convention in Overland Park.

What’s—Still—the Matter With Kansas? What’s—Still—the Matter With Kansas?

As recent events bear out, when Thomas Frank lamented, “We’ll have to drag the Democrats kicking and screaming to victory" in 2017, if anything he was understating the challenge.

Nov 27, 2024 / Column / Erica Etelson

A close up shot of VP candidate JD Vance mid-speech.

Democrats Dismiss JD Vance at Their Peril Democrats Dismiss JD Vance at Their Peril

Calling the Ohio senator "weird" may feel satisfying. Pundits have dismissed him as a drag on the ticket. But the smarter play would still be to steal his thunder.

Sep 6, 2024 / Column / Erica Etelson and Anthony Flaccavento

Whom Should Kamala Harris Choose as Her Running Mate?

Whom Should Kamala Harris Choose as Her Running Mate? Whom Should Kamala Harris Choose as Her Running Mate?

Nation writers make their cases for who the next Democratic vice presidential candidate should be.

Jul 31, 2024 / Jeet Heer, Alexis Grenell, Sasha Abramsky, Erica Etelson, Anthony Flaccavento, Elie Mystal, Joan Walsh, John Nichols, and Katha Pollitt

Workers digging a hole to install a cable

Working-Class Americans Prefer a “Hand Up” to a “Handout” Working-Class Americans Prefer a “Hand Up” to a “Handout”

Working- and middle-class Americans take pride in their work. If Democrats want to win their votes, they need to acknowledge and appeal to that pride, not dismiss or patronize it....

Jul 23, 2024 / Column / Erica Etelson

Nathaniel Blankenship, a crew member in a job program with Coalfield Development Corporation, works to remodel a 1920s-era warehouse into office space in Williamson, West Virginia.

Paul Krugman May Not Know How to Reverse the Decline of Rural America. But We Do. Paul Krugman May Not Know How to Reverse the Decline of Rural America. But We Do.

The countryside has been neglected for decades. A Rural New Deal would reverse that with capital and creative solutions writen by and for rural Americans.

Jun 12, 2024 / Erica Etelson and Anthony Flaccavento

Bruce, after arriving in the middle of the night, waits to enter a Remote Area Medical (RAM) mobile dental and medical clinic on October 7, 2023, in Grundy, Virginia.

It’s Not Too Late for Democrats to Win Back Rural Voters It’s Not Too Late for Democrats to Win Back Rural Voters

Putting together a Democratic majority in 2024 requires winning back some portion of the rural working class. The good news is that it can be done. Here’s how.

May 17, 2024 / Column / Erica Etelson and Anthony Flaccavento

A voter prepares to cast their ballot in the Democratic Primary as they walk in to the Cordesville Rural Fire Department on February 03, 2024 in Cordesville, South Carolina.

The Only Thing Worse Than Taking Rural Voters for Granted The Only Thing Worse Than Taking Rural Voters for Granted

… is dismissing them as out of reach for Democrats.

Apr 15, 2024 / Erica Etelson and Anthony Flaccavento

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