MENOMONIE, WIS. – Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has wagered that Minnesota’s folksy, flannel-wearing governor can help her win over working-class voters in battleground states, but in neighboring western Wisconsin, it’s unclear whether Gov. Tim Walz is having much sway.
Retiree Jane Pedersen proudly hoisted a “Coach Walz” sign as she and a few dozen other local Democrats rallied outside the Menomonie Public Library on a clear fall afternoon. As a stream of drivers passed by during rush hour, many honked and hollered out their windows in support. There’s palpably more enthusiasm for the Harris-Walz ticket among Democrats in this college town than there was for President Joe Biden, Pedersen said.
“He builds bridges. He doesn’t tear down things … To be from Minnesota is even better,” Pedersen, 73, said of Walz. But Pedersen said she wasn’t very familiar with Walz until he was elevated to the national ticket, and that she would have supported Harris regardless of her running mate.
Thirteen miles east in the village of Elk Mound, Tom Gilbert manned the counter of the gun shop that his grandfather opened in 1952. A large “Trump Vance Make America Great Again 2024″ sign hangs outside the Gilbert Gun Exchange, which is housed in a stately old bank building on the town’s main drag. Shotguns, rifles and other firearms line the walls inside, along with a sign from the last election that reads: “Trump 2020 cuz … you don’t send a choir boy to a knife fight.”

The 49-year-old Gilbert describes himself as a “constitutionalist independent,” someone who had been open to both parties until he felt Democrats began encroaching on Second Amendment rights. Former President Donald Trump may not have the best bedside manner, Gilbert said, “but he’s not running for kindergarten teacher. When the job entails sitting at tables with tyrants and psychopaths of the world, commanding respect is imperative.” He isn’t a fan of Harris, who he said didn’t earn the Democratic nomination, nor does he like Walz.
“The guy’s a little radical for me,” Gilbert said, adding that he heard that Walz and Minnesota Democrats spent most of a $17 billion budget surplus in a single legislative session.
The Harris campaign has trumpeted Walz’s small-town roots and background as a former soldier, football coach and gun owner ever since he joined the ticket, and it has deployed him to red counties in several battleground states over the past couple months. Democrats hope that Walz, a former red-district congressman, can boost their appeal in rural America. They know they probably won’t win in Trump country, but they’re trying to narrow the margins, which could make the difference in a close election.
Western Wisconsin could be the ideal testing ground for this hypothesis. Voters here live within easy driving distance of Minnesota and get much of their news from the North Star state, giving them more exposure to Walz. The region is also home to a handful of the so-called “pivot counties” in America that voted for Barack Obama twice before swinging to Trump. Dunn County, home to Menomonie and a mix of small towns including Elk Mound, is one of those counties.