There might be no one with more guts, spirit, and grit working to make change in rural and red states than Jess Piper.

Jess is a rural Missourian, former teacher, fundraiser for rural candidates, and a social media phenomenon with hundreds of thousands of followers.

We were lucky enough to sit down with her and talk through a simple question: what's wrong, and how do we fix it?

hear her story

Our feeling is this: if Jess could keep her students in line, she can do almost anything. And that kind of determination is exactly what's built her online following, inspired an army of organizers, and catapulted her near and far to speak to folks who feel left behind and forgotten about.

Her message is simple: recruit candidates, challenge as many far-right Republicans as you can, and support those candidates with actual dollars.

It's a simple strategy, but one that is slowly reviving our rural Democratic presence, reaping some wins, learning from tough losses, and moving forward toward progress.

In her home state of Missouri, Republicans have controlled the House and Senate for 20 years. But even so, the voters have passed abortion rights, minimum wage increases, paid sick leave for the first time ever, and threw out Right to Work – all through ballot initiatives.

Quite frankly, people are often much more centrist and progressive than any of their elected leaders want to let on.

There's hope and a need for change and progress in the air in states like Missouri. Jess Piper has honed in on that and become a voice for organizers in tough places everywhere.

Take a listen to the full conversation with Jess Piper here – and if you like what you hear, share it with your friends!

Heidi

Heidi Heitkamp, Former U.S. Senator for North Dakota
Founder, One Country Project