Good afternoon,

Overseas in Paris, 592 American athletes are competing to earn gold on the Olympic stage. As Team USA seeks to make history abroad, we're keeping our eye on the historic proceedings at home, namely, the 2024 presidential race and the candidates vying to serve as running mate to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and current Vice President, Kamala Harris.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has withdrawn from consideration. Cooper, a Democrat who has managed to win reelection in a largely red state, is term-limited as governor but also a potential challenger to Senator Thom Tillis in 2026. This "wasn't the right time for North Carolina" – a time during which, thanks the state's constitutional succession law, could allow Republican Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson to serve as acting governor in Cooper's absence, à la Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin. Of course, some legal analysts say modern technology renders the interpretation of "presence" as physical presence obsolete. Not to mention, Robinson's actions would likely play unfavorably with voters.

Regardless of that technicality, Harris has five qualified potential running mates standing before her, but only one can be America's next Vice President. The remaining contestants are as follows: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. Central to the veepstakes is each potential candidate's ability to win critical swing states – and appeal to rural voters. OCP board member and Iowa State Rep. J.D. Scholten told Politico that "it helps to have someone who has had to fight in close races."

Being able to connect with rural voters will be critical in this election. Luckily, OCP's 2024 Rural Playbook provides the talking points you need to point to tangible wins that Democrats have secured for rural America. Here's what the latest edition has to offer...

SECURING OUR COMMUNITIES' HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

• A sense of security comprises notions of both safety and certainty – notions that many rural communities have lost. Access to health care in rural areas is increasingly limited, plagued by a lack of primary care doctors to a dearth of specialists. 86 percent of rural counties, for example, do not have even a single cardiologist. Unsurprisingly, these regions see higher rates of severe disease and earlier deaths.

• Hospital closures – 192 since 2005 – have disrupted communities that are grappling with a mental health crisis and rising substance use disorders. On top of National politicians fan the flames of fear and uncertainty about immigration and crime.

• Families in rural America are wrestling with the question of safety, as they consider long drives to health care providers, a lack of private insurance, sparse resources for mental illness and substance abuse. It's not enough, however, to name communities' fears: policymakers need to take tangible steps to address the root causes of these challenges in order to create a sense of security within rural American communities.

• One Country seeks to bolster rural residents' sense of safety and well-being in their own community. Policies that support mental health care, provide treatment plans for substance use disorders, and address immigration and crime can build physical health and ease community members' minds about the security of their neighbors, building trust and confidence. Read Securing Our Communities' Safety and Well-being here.

• This week, the DNC will hold a virtual roll call where Democratic delegates are expected to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee. Harris is expected to pick her running mate by August 7 as she hits the battleground state campaign trail. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois begins in three weeks.

Be sure to follow the One Country Project on Twitter and Facebook, and listen to The Hot Dish podcast.