Some of you may have read my posts and such. I'm a Rural Progressive in Central Pennsylvania, (Centre County). I'm in the county of Pennsylvania that shows up as a blue dot on the map when they show elections in the state.
The county itself is really purple with a blue lean. Outside of the State College Borough area, it's quite red. One trend that has been noticeable is that the Democratic Party (whether its the state level or local level) tends to ignore rural areas and also tends to attack or alienate progressive candidates. When I ran against the (at the time) GOP Majority Leader for PA House in 2022, it was amazing how little the state party supported my campaign (with resources) and how many groups that claimed to want to "flip seats blue" would not invest in the race. I raised more cash than any challenger did before in that district and it was made redder with the new maps. My campaign also made over 20,000 door knocks, tens of thousands of calls, and over 100,000 texts. It’s not like we didn’t make the effort, but if we didn’t have to spend as much time making the calls, the texts, or fundraising so much, we could have done more work on the doors.
I did notice a few things that could be done to shift voters and citizens to support Democrats. After all, if Democrats are to be the party of the people, they need to support the policies that do that and work toward it. Luckily, a new PAC was formed to work on making this movement and investing in the areas that the party apparently won't work into it. The PAC is called Progress Centre. You can check them out here. They also have Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Long story short, a lot of rural areas are low in registered voters, don't get outreach, and need some support when it comes to community work and infrastructure. Progress Centre seeks to work on registering voters (ideally Dem leaning or progressive leaning), conduct outreach to younger voters and rural voters, and support progressive ideals (as they poll well in rural areas, believe it or not). Investing in the community organizing and doing the work, Progress Centre seeks to play the long game in making substantive change.
I am hoping we can help out this new group out as they work in the areas that need the attention and can help rural Democrats and Progressives win. Their ask, other than support, is that folks make a recurring monthly donation, whether its $5, $15, or $50 so they can focus on the work and not spending so much time on fundraising.
You can donate online here or make checks payable to:
The group does focus on trying to keep overhead costs low and utilizing technology. If you have questions, email them at: progresscentrePA@gmail.com.
I support the work they are doing and am glad to be involved in creating a movement in rural areas here in Central PA. Whether its time, money, or just following them on social media and sharing their posts, every bit helps!