Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Amy Klobuchar Casts Herself as Heartland Democrat in First Campaign Swing

Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota worked quickly to establish her Wisconsin bona fides in a visit to the state on Saturday.Credit...Tim Gruber for The New York Times

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Amy Klobuchar cast herself as the candidate from the heartland Saturday in the first campaign trip of her presidential run, visiting a state Hillary Clinton narrowly lost in 2016 and emphasizing her deep Midwestern roots, her knowledge of rural America and her record of bipartisanship while drawing sharp contrasts to President Trump on issues from climate change to immigration.

Ms. Klobuchar pointedly chose Wisconsin — the state that Mrs. Clinton did not visit during the general election campaign in 2016 and lost to Mr. Trump by less than one percentage point. The Wisconsin defeat, along with narrow losses in Michigan and Pennsylvania, clinched the election for President Trump and inflicted a devastating wound that still haunts Democrats in Wisconsin and beyond.

[Make sense of the people, issues and ideas shaping American politics with our newsletter.]

In an already crowded Democratic primary field, Ms. Klobuchar was eager to highlight what her campaign hopes can set her apart: her Midwestern base and her electoral dominance in many rural, red counties in Minnesota populated by the kind of voters who have largely deserted the Democratic Party. She campaigned in Iowa later in the day.

“We’re going to look at each other and look at the challenges we face in this country,” she told an enthusiastic crowd jammed into the Shift Cyclery and Coffee Bar. “The challenge that we see in both Minnesota and Wisconsin is about the rural-urban divide. What I’ve decided to do in our state is to go to places that maybe we didn’t focus on enough in the last few years. That includes our rural areas.”

When she announced her candidacy on Sunday in a Minnesota blizzard, she drove home the point: “We’re starting in Wisconsin because, as you remember, there wasn’t a lot of campaigning in Wisconsin in 2016,” she said. “With me, that changes.” She added: “I’m going to be here a lot.” It was widely seen as a dig at Mrs. Clinton.

She worked quickly to establish her Wisconsin bona fides and to list her engagement with rural issues in the Senate and as a presidential candidate.

“I am so pleased to be in Wisconsin, the state where my mother was born,” she said to cheers. Her great-grandparents were cheesemakers, she said, and she visited the state every year of her childhood. She pledged to expand broadband access and demonstrated her knowledge of rural arcana like the margin protection program, which is billed as a safety net for dairy farmers.

Video
bars
0:00/1:56
-0:00

transcript

Who Is Amy Klobuchar? | 2020 Presidential Candidate

Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, is running for president. Ms. Klobuchar is hoping her Midwestern roots and history of working across the aisle will help her candidacy.

A Minnesota senator known for her folksy style — “With my pork chop on a stick!” — who’s not afraid of the cold — “… beautiful snow storm, and ready to vote” — Senator Amy Klobuchar is joining the race for president of the United States. So, who is she? Klobuchar grew up in the Minneapolis suburbs, the daughter of a schoolteacher and a newspaper columnist. She became a corporate lawyer before transitioning to politics, and was elected district attorney for the state’s most populous county. “We’ve gone after scam artists, child abusers, murderers.” Klobuchar ran for the Senate in 2006 and won. She has since earned a reputation as a worker bee. Trevor Noah: “You have been ranked as first on a list of all 100 senators with the most bills that have been enacted into law.” She’s also known for being a difficult boss and has one of the highest staff turnover rates in the Senate. Klobuchar gained national attention during the Kavanaugh hearings — “Drinking is one thing, but the concern is about truthfulness” — and even wound up being parodied on S.N.L. “Did you ever drink too many beers?” “You mean was I cool? Yeah.” [laughter] She isn’t a centrist, but she hasn’t embraced some of the party’s most progressive ideas, either. Some recent priorities? Lowering the cost of prescription drugs, addressing sexual harassment and protecting online privacy. “These companies have to do all they can to protect the information of the people that are part of their platforms.” And President Trump? Klobuchar says he hasn’t risen to the job. “We need someone in the White House that’s a hero for their time.” So far she doesn’t seem to really be on his radar. “Thank you, as well, to Senator Amy Klo-bu-char.” And the polls? Early numbers put her near the bottom of the pack, for now. But some Democrats hope Klobuchar’s Midwestern roots and track record of bipartisanship will have broad appeal. “Courage is whether or not you’re willing to stand next to someone you don’t always agree with for the betterment of this country.”

Video player loading
Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, is running for president. Ms. Klobuchar is hoping her Midwestern roots and history of working across the aisle will help her candidacy.CreditCredit...Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times

She also name-checked the local high school colors and the local controversy about the college mascot at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire.

Ms. Klobuchar’s focus on the Midwest notwithstanding, Democrats are debating whether the best path to the presidency lies through the three key Midwestern and Northern states Mrs. Clinton lost, or through a combination of newly competitive Sun Belt states including Arizona, Georgia and perhaps Texas.

In her Eau Claire talk, she soon pivoted to national issues, emphasizing that she had co-sponsored bills with Republicans on several of her priorities. She ticked off her major issues: climate change, lowering health care premiums and the cost of prescription drugs, immigration as the bedrock of American values, passing privacy laws to rein in technology companies, and the importance of protecting voting rights.

“What has President Trump done? He’s gone backward, instead of the Wisconsin state motto which is” — she paused and the crowd chimed in — “Forward.” She pledged to rejoin the international climate treaty on her first day as president. She denounced Mr. Trump’s national emergency declaration and emphasized her belief that immigrants are America.

Her grandfather, she said, was stopped at Ellis Island — there was apparently a quota on immigrants from Switzerland — and instead entered the United States from Canada. On the eve of World War II, he was fearful he would be deported and successfully applied to become a citizen.

“I wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have a sane immigration policy in this country,” Ms. Klobuchar said.

Her message of bipartisanship resonated for several voters who came to hear her speak. “I think she is able to work across the aisle in a way that’s been proven,” said Eileen Immerman, 63, a nurse in Eau Claire and a political independent.

Although Ms. Klobuchar made no reference to being a woman in her talk, several voters said her gender was also a draw.

“I just want to vote for a woman,” said Inga Orth, 37, a dairy farmer who said she knew little about Ms. Klobuchar but was eager to learn more. “I’m just so sick of men — middle-aged men. I think it’s crazy that men are having opinions about abortions: It shouldn’t be men who decide on these things.” She said her top priorities were climate change and women’s rights.

Image
When she announced her candidacy on Sunday in a Minnesota blizzard, she drove home the point: “We’re starting in Wisconsin because, as you remember, there wasn’t a lot of campaigning in Wisconsin in 2016,” she said. “With me, that changes.” She added: “I’m going to be here a lot.”Credit...Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times

That sentiment was not confined to women. “I’m ready for a woman in the top spot,” said Eric Holey, a potter in Eau Claire who was delighted that candidates were visiting Wisconsin, since he said he still believes Mrs. Clinton’s failure to visit once she won the nomination contributed to the Democrats’ loss of the state. He will be evaluating candidates in part based on their support for education and health care for all.

Indeed, as Ms. Klobuchar made her way through the crowd, posing for selfies, shaking hands and tickling babies’ stomachs, Jackie Christner, a 74-year-old retired teacher who needs insulin shots, pressed her on whether she supported Medicare for all. Ms. Klobuchar said she wanted to work step by step, and supported expanding Medicaid or Medicare. “To me, that means universal health care,” Ms. Christner said. “But I’m not totally satisfied. How might she do that? I like to know more.”

Several voters interviewed shrugged off reports that Ms. Klobuchar had high staff turnover because she was an exceptionally demanding employer. “I think they say that about every woman — it’s so irritating,” Ms. Orth said. “I’m so sick of hearing that women are demanding. Come on.”

Ms. Klobuchar’s strong showing in rural Minnesota may offer promising signs in Wisconsin, traditionally divided between the liberal centers of Milwaukee and Madison and the more conservative north. Her potential Midwestern competitors could include Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who has not yet announced for president, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., who has.

Wisconsin Democrats are nonetheless relishing the attention, emboldened by last year’s statewide Democratic victories, most notably reclaiming the governor’s office from a staunch conservative, Scott Walker, after eight years, and easily re-electing Senator Tammy Baldwin.

“Wisconsin is a place of optimism and energy for Democrats,” said Paul Maslin, a longtime Democratic pollster based in Madison. “We know we’re a big deal. We may decide this.”

But he does not think Ms. Klobuchar can coast on regional loyalty. “We’re not going to exclude people because they don’t come from the Midwest,” he said. “It’s a way that she gets into living rooms a little bit quicker than other people do, on a basis that’s a little bit more familiar.”

Ultimately, though, he said — and voters in Eau Claire confirmed — Wisconsin voters are looking for someone who can present a vision for the country’s future, with particular attention to health care, the opioid crisis, climate change’s effect on agriculture, plans to halt the region’s declining manufacturing base, trade, and the civil rights of women, gays and lesbians.

Nor does he discount Republican strength, having watched the state veer Republican and Democrat over the years. He expects President Trump to court Wisconsin heavily. In a race with so much up in the air, he can predict one thing with certainty: no snubs for his state in this cycle.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 22 of the New York edition with the headline: Klobuchar Casts Herself as Heartland Democrat in First Campaign Swing. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT