VEEPSTAKES, BATTLEGROUND EDITION: As a number of Democratic hopefuls are boosting their national profiles and campaigning to be Kamala Harris’ running mate, some vulnerable Democrats are hoping Harris will tap a VP who can appeal to voters in battleground districts, a significant number of which are in rural America. Battleground Democrats in private are extremely wary of Republicans painting Harris as an out-of-touch California liberal and are pressing for vice presidential candidates who they argue can balance the ticket, four people familiar with the discussions told MA. They argue that will be key in the coming weeks when Harris will have to confront all the same issues that have plagued the party in competitive districts so far. “There’s so much enthusiasm right now, but you have to assume that’s not going to last,” said a Democratic Hill aide. Battleground Democrats have been boosting possible vice presidential candidates who they argue voters in their states will be able to relate to more than Harris, who has lived and thrived politically on the West and East coasts. It's Walz, for one: Minnesota Democrats and key battleground Democrats are promoting the two-term Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) as someone who can fit that bill. “One of the things about Tim that I think is a strength is his ability just to be real,” Senate Ag member Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said in an interview. Rural roots: Walz (who is originally from rural Nebraska) served six terms in Congress representing a rural, ag-heavy district in southern Minnesota. He won reelection there in 2016, the same year Trump won the region. Your host, who is from the district, notes many Republicans there admit he's a much harder Democrat to attack than others, given his background. Even more pressing, Democrats in Walz's former district and across battleground states are deeply concerned that they've lost even more ground in rural areas after President Joe Biden's debate fallout. That alone could tip must-win states out of reach for Democrats. Smith suggested Walz could help shore up "Blue Wall" states and be a significant asset for the party to regain traction in areas of the country where it's been losing support for years. He understands “what life is like for people in the middle of the country who live in small towns and rural places and often feel like nobody is really noticing them or paying that much attention to them,” Smith said. She also argued Walz’s ability to enact an ambitious progressive agenda in Minnesota, including free school meals, while being able to effectively talk about how those moves will benefit residents across the state makes him “a strong contender” for the post. Other Democrats say Walz, who served in the National Guard and was a high school teacher and football coach before getting into politics, can attract new voters as someone who isn't a career politician and his straight-forward, no frills messaging can cut through the fog. "He seems like a guy you would meet at a backyard barbecue in the Midwest. That's a vibe you can't fake," one Minnesota Democrat said. Cooper booster: Don Davis, a vulnerable House Ag Democrat representing a rural stretch of North Carolina, has pushed for his home state’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to be on the ticket with Harris. Other battleground Democrats are pushing for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as the vice presidential pick. Shapiro also did better with rural voters in his 2022 election than other recent Democrats. Republicans’ rural angling: Top Ag Committee Republicans recently told your host at the RNC that Donald Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) could help the party gain extra rural and agricultural support. Potential Harris running mates have gone after Vance’s history of posturing himself as a voice for rural areas this week. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D), another veepstakes contender, has drawn a line between Vance and rural voters, arguing that Vance has misrepresented Appalachians in his 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.”
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