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  • From the Desk of Al Franken

NOT WEIRD

When I met Tim Walz in 2005, he was campaigning for his first time in the 1st Congressional District of Minnesota. That’s a strip of primarily rural counties — very hard for a Democrat to win.

I had just moved back to Minnesota with an eye on taking Norm Coleman’s Senate seat in 2008. I was very impressed with Tim. So, I offered to campaign for him in the 1st District, and called Rahm Emanuel, who was heading up the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, for support for Tim. “No,” said Rahm. “He doesn’t have a chance in that district.”

But as I campaigned with Tim, I could see that folks had had it with the war in Iraq. Tim, a veteran (and a high school teacher and football coach), could make the case against the war better than anyone I had seen.

After months of periodically getting rejected by Rahm, the DCCC got polling that suggested that Tim could win. I got a call from a DCCC staffer. “We want to put $50,000 worth of TV in Mankato!”

Tim won — part of the 2006 wave election that gave Democrats the majority in the House and made Nancy Pelosi the Speaker for the first time.

I won my 2008 race and served in the Senate, arriving as the 60th Democrat. Together, the House and Senate passed the Affordable Care Act in 2010.

Tim and I served together in Congress and worked on agricultural issues. After all, one out of every six jobs in Minnesota is tied to agriculture.

In 2018, Tim won his race for governor and was reelected in 2022. When Democrats finally had the trifecta — the governor’s office and control of both the state senate and statehouse — he was able to pass and sign legislation that made reproductive freedom a right, expanded paid family and medical leave, and made school meals for students free. 

Tim will be a great asset for Vice President Kamala Harris. He speaks common sense and connects with folks from all walks of life. Except people who don’t like to be called “folks.”

Please help us support the Harris-Walz ticket.

Thanks,

Al

P.S. A good chunk of western Wisconsin gets its TV from the Twin Cities. Which pisses them off come football season when they get the Vikings instead of the Packers. Despite this, they still like Walz! Wait ‘til he gets to Michigan where there is no coverage of the Vikings! 

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Somehow, it’s been 20 years since I started Midwest Values PAC to help Democrats win elections — from progressive organizations to state legislatures to Congress to the White House — who share the values I grew up with in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

Since 2006, Midwest Values PAC has invested more than $4 million in 341 candidates and organizations — and counting. 

Of course, none of this happens without you (or supporters like you) who care enough to pitch in.

As we mark our 20th anniversary, the work is more urgent than ever. This year, we have a big job: flip the House, take the Senate, and win up and down the ballot at the state and local level.

To mark our 20th year, we’ve set an ambitious goal: 26,000 contributions by Election Day 2026.

DONATE HERE

Thanks for being part of this fight, and for sticking with us for 20 years (or for just joining — welcome!).

Al

P.S. Over the years, okay, decades, we’ve helped Democrats win tough races all across the country by investing early, intelligently, and strategically. That’s how you flip seats. That’s how you protect democracy. And that’s how you stop the worst impulses of a president who never should have been president in the first place.

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