The Contract for Rural America

Will Westmoreland’s Vision for the Contract for Rural America

For decades, rural America has faced a coordinated and well-funded assault on its core institutions. Policies advanced by powerful national interests have systematically weakened rural healthcare systems, undercut public education, and drained economic opportunity from small towns and farming communities. These efforts were not accidental. They were organized, targeted, and sustained—and rural America has paid the price through hospital closures, declining schools, population loss, and economic stagnation.

For decades, rural America has faced a coordinated and well-funded assault on its core institutions. Policies advanced by powerful national interests have systematically weakened rural healthcare systems, undercut public education, and drained economic opportunity from small towns and farming communities. These efforts were not accidental. They were organized, targeted, and sustained—and rural America has paid the price through hospital closures, declining schools, population loss, and economic stagnation.

Drawing on his experience as a political strategist in the 1990s and his recent work as a rural advocate, Will Westmoreland closely examined past and present conservative policy blueprints, including the Republican Contract with America and Project 2025 advanced by the Heritage Foundation. While these initiatives were disciplined, well-financed, and politically effective, they proved devastating to rural communities—accelerating disinvestment and reinforcing policies that hollowed out the rural economy.


At the beginning of 2025, in response, Westmoreland envisioned the Contract for Rural America as a proactive counter-strategy: a clear, values-driven policy framework designed to identify what has gone wrong and lay out practical solutions to rebuild rural communities. Rather than vague promises, the Contract is intended to be focused, measurable, and rooted in the lived realities of rural Americans.

The Contract Centers on Three Foundational Policy Pillars

Healthcare

Addressing rural hospital closures, workforce shortages, access to primary and emergency care, and the long-term sustainability of rural health systems, informed by data and analysis from the National Rural Health Association.

Education

Strengthening rural schools as community anchors, expanding access to quality education and workforce training, and reversing decades of underinvestment, drawing on research and best practices from the National Rural Education Association.

Economic Development

Closing the rural capital and investment gap, supporting small businesses and farmers, and creating pathways for sustainable rural growth, informed by financial research including national studies on rural funding disparities from Escalent.

Westmoreland's Commitment

Westmoreland is actively working with key organizations, advocates, and policy leaders across the country who are focused on rural American issues to refine and strengthen the Contract. The goal is not simply to oppose harmful policies, but to offer a serious, credible alternative—one that puts rural people, places, and priorities back at the center of national policy debates.


The Contract for Rural America is expected to be finalized and publicly released by the end of January 2026, serving as both a roadmap for policy reform and a call to action for leaders committed to the future of rural America.