Yes and no. Republicans haven't done jack shit for the majority of rural folks anymore than democrats have. The problem is Republicans got to them first via social media and readily available news outlets that are popular in those regions, convincing them that all their problems are being caused strictly by liberal politicians, as well as veiled/not veiled bigoted accusations against other demographics (e.g. immigrants, gays, trans, etc). Ironically, democrats in recent years have tried to win them back by bringing green tech to lots of plains states (e.g. wind farm boom) as well as more jobs (e.g. infrastructure bill), but this is ignored because the GOP are better at psyops than democrats.