The Conversation - Does Walz actually have rural appeal?

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Two weeks ago, I wrote an email to Nicholas Jacobs, a political scientist at Colby College in Maine. Kamala Harris had just picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, and stereotypes of Midwesterners were all over the news. “If I hear another reference to ‘Midwestern nice,’” I wrote, “I’ll scream.”

I wanted Jacobs, who’s the co-author of a book on rural voters, to help readers understand whether Walz held genuine, not imagined, appeal for those voters. Much of the political coverage of Walz seemed to assume that he would be the favorite of rural voters, helping the Democratic ticket win the election. It was all pretty much your typical urban take on … the rest of the country.

“At first glance, such analysis – tinged with wishful thinking – seems self-evident,” writes Jacobs. “Walz, the governor of Minnesota, was raised in a small, rural town in Nebraska and runs a Midwestern state with a strong rural identity. And it is hard to deny that many rural advocates and writers genuinely feel seen and represented with the choice of Walz – a feeling not felt in quite some time.”

But in past elections, Walz hasn’t pulled in large numbers of votes from rural areas of Minnesota.

“Walz’s challenge is not merely to present a rural-friendly image,” writes Jacobs. “It’s addressing the deeper issues that motivate rural voters, such as economic insecurity, perceived cultural marginalization and distrust in government.”

You can see whether Walz does that tonight, when he addresses the Democratic National Convention.

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