Minnesota Governor Tim Walz launched a new political action committee designed to do something he failed to do as a vice presidential candidate and as governor: win in rural areas.
Walz announced Monday he was launching a project called Small Town PAC with the goal of wooing rural voters to the Democratic Party. In recent years, Democrats have increasingly lost ground in rural areas with most of their support coming from major cities.
“Today, we’re launching Small Town PAC. We’re going to show up in small towns, organize in places too many people have given up on, and build power with the folks who call these places home,” Walz said. “If Democrats want to win in more places, we’ve got to start showing up in more places.”
The Small Town PAC website says that “rebuilding Democratic leadership starts with real conversations about the issues that actually impact people and the courage to challenge the powerful interests pulling communities apart.”
During the 2024 election, the Harris-Walz ticket won just nine of Minnesota’s 87 counties, with their support primarily coming in the population centers of Rochester, Minneapolis, and Duluth. The Trump-Vance ticket won the rest of the state’s more rural counties.
In his two governor’s races, Walz performed slightly better, winning 13 counties in 2022 and peaking at 21 in 2018. One poll last year from the Minnesota Star Tribune found that six out of ten voters outside of the Twin Cities area disapproved of Walz. During his time in office, Walz has pushed radical Left policies from gun control to transgender ideology to abortion.
For the past three presidential cycles, Republicans have dominated in rural areas while Democrats have turned to cities. Between 2016 and 2024, Democrat candidates have consistently won 421 counties, while Republican candidates have swept 2,559 counties, and 132 counties have split votes, according to Ballotpedia.
Walz attacked former opponent Vice President JD Vance in a statement on why he was launching the PAC.
“Republicans like JD Vance like to portray their small-town neighbors as petty, resentful, and small-minded. I disagree,” he said. “I think the problem facing small towns are Republicans like JD Vance.”
Responding to the criticism, Vance’s office pointed to the large amounts of fraud that have been flagged in Minnesota.
“The problem facing many small towns in Minnesota is that Tim Walz gives their money to fraudulent daycares,” the vice president’s office told POLITICO.
Walz faced other criticism over the announcement of his new political project.
“If Democrats want to win in small towns again, this is the last person they should listen to,” said Rep. Harry Niska. “In eight years as Governor, he has shown voters across Greater Minnesota that the DFL no longer represents them.”
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