Heidi M. Przybyla

USA TODAY

ATHENS, Ohio — Hillary Clinton ventured this week into the heart of Donald Trump’s "silent majority": the hills of Appalachia's coal and steel country where the anger of white, working-class voters may determine whether he’ll seriously challenge her for the presidency.

Clinton is reaching out to underserved, majority white communities that aren’t recovering from the Great Recession and the industries’ decline and where Trump’s message about unfair competition from China is resonating.

“Appalachia is a vital part of the United States,” Clinton told a crowd of a couple hundred inside a brewery in Athens, Ohio, as she concluded a two-day swing through the southeastern part of the state, as well as Kentucky and West Virginia, which hold Democratic primaries later this month.

“Too often, people feel like they’re not treated that way,” she said Tuesday. “You deserve every chance to get ahead and stay ahead in America" and politicians have “a responsibility to come to this region of the country and look people in the eye,” said Clinton.

With Trump's nomination all but assured following Ted Cruz's exit from the GOP race Tuesday, Democrats are hopeful they can capture more of the nation's moderate and independent votes while mobilizing critical parts of the party's base, including blacks, Hispanics and women. What’s unknown is how many working-class, white voters like 49-year-old Jon Malone will offset those numbers. Malone can’t remember the last time he voted but is casting a ballot for Trump.

If Donald Trump wants to beat Hillary Clinton, he needs to win these 5 states

Top takeaways from the Indiana primary

He was among a group of house cleaners sitting on the deck of a nearby house holding cellphones and trying to get a shot of the candidate. Voters like Malone illustrate the challenges she’ll have in appealing to Americans who feel left behind and that their jobs have been shipped overseas. At least three identified as Democrats, including one who voted for both Clinton and her husband, and all of them plan to vote for Trump.

“The only one that would even try to bring back jobs would be Donald,” said Malone, whose boss, 45-year-old Cheryl Wright, nodded in agreement. “He’s a businessman” and “he’s not going to listen to the career politicians,” Malone added.

Bernie Sanders celebrates Indiana win, criticizes closed primaries

In her speech, Clinton previewed her approach to countering Trump with these voters. She emphasized plans to reinvest in local communities but also pointed a finger at executives “trying to shirk their responsibilities to their workers and their retirees.” She cited benefit cuts and lax mine safety standards and singled out former coal executive Donald Blankenship, who protested outside one of her West Virginia events. Blankenship was recently sentenced to a year in prison for conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards

“Well, if Donald Trump wants the support of someone like that, he can have it,” said Clinton.

As Clinton pivots to a general election message, she’s also adopting some of Trump’s tough-on-China rhetoric, while emphasizing her plans to reinvest in struggling coal communities. She's lining up surrogates to vouch for her commitment to combating unfair trade deals. “I trust Hillary Clinton to stand up to China and to fight for better trade laws,” said Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who introduced her at the brewery. Trump will be in West Virginia vowing to return coal and other jobs on Thursday.

Among her stops was a plant in Ashland, Ky., that was idled in the winter of 2015, laying off more than 600 employees. It is an example of the crisis caused by China dumping steel, according to a Clinton campaign fact sheet.

Clinton also spent time atoning for comments she made in March predicting that coal companies would be put out of business during her administration. She also said those workers should not be forgotten and spoke about her plans to boost the local economy, but the comments got all of the attention.

On Monday in Williamson, W.Va., Clinton was greeted by a swarm of protestors, many of whom waved "Trump" signs and chanted "Go home!" The protests continued to be audible even during Clinton's roundtable discussion. She was also confronted by laid-off coal worker Bo Copley about her remarks about the coal industry.

“I misspoke,” Clinton said on Tuesday. “One reason I took this trip was to say that directly to the people affected,” she said. “I would never disrespect the people here.”

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Clinton deserves credit for going into the heart of coal country. “I know the statement she said was devastating,” he said. “But she’s said it was taken out of context,” said Manchin. “For her to go down into coal country speaks volumes about her commitment,” he told reporters.

In November, Clinton released a $30 billion plan aimed at revitalizing communities dependent on coal. She also emphasized her plans to in invest $10 billion to bring manufacturing jobs back to America and to provide a federal backstop for mineworker health and pension benefits.

“I know to a lot of people in this region these words may sound nice, but it’s not so easy to believe them,” said Clinton, referring to politicians who make promises they can’t keep. “I’m not going to do that,” she said.

“I’m going to be your partner, and I will not for one minute give up on Appalachia," she said.