Stabroek News Sunday

Walz’s ‘Minnesota nice’ image resonates with some voters in Midwestern battlegrou­nd state

BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wisconsin (Reuters) - David Mattison, a retired postal worker, had spent nearly all of his life in this remote corner of Wisconsin, watching family farms fail and small businesses go under with the hollowing out of the rural economy.

So he had approached this year’s presidenti­al election with a sense of detachment, not yet convinced either the Democratic or Republican candidates spoke to his concerns as a voter in rural America - until Minnesota Governor Tim Walz joined the Democratic ticket as Kamala Harris’

Mattison, who has voted for Republican­s and Democrats, would have been open to a more conservati­ve candidate. But he said he did not like Republican contender Donald Trump’s divisivene­ss. And, while Mattison admitted he was unfamiliar with Walz’s policies, he identified with the governor’s background as a Midwestern­er who was also raised in farm country.

“He’s kind of a homegrown boy,” Mattison, 68, told Reuters outside of a Walmart Supercente­r in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, a city with a population of around 3,500 about 60 miles (97 km) from the Minnesota state border.

Harris campaign officials are betting Walz’s folksy style, Midwestern roots and life story as a former farmer, teacher and National Guard member, will appeal to some of the white men in rural areas who voted for Trump by huge margins in the last two elections - and help deliver the battlegrou­nd states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvan­ia for the Democrats.

But that is a tall order, especially in the Midwestern states where the electorate skews older, whiter and more blue collar: Trump’s strongest demographi­c.

Reuters interviewe­d about 40 voters in northwest Wisconsin, one of the most closely fought areas of the state, about the candidates and their running mates, speaking to Democratic, Republican and undecided voters.

Many of those voters said they had made up their minds before Harris tapped Walz as her running mate.

But Mattison and one other independen­t voter said Harris’ choice of Walz has pushed them toward the Democratic ticket this year. One former Trump voter had a favorable view of Walz but wasn’t sure how he would vote. Another handful said they remained undecided.