The Democrats Problem in Rural America

Democrats have lost rural America. I live in Minnesota’s CD 7 which is the western third of the state reaching nearly to Iowa up to Canada. Some state senate districts are nearly the size of Connecticut. Over the 10 to 20 years, a Democrat does well if they get 35% of the vote. Amy Klobuchar is the exception. Collin Peterson, who had done more for farmers, lost to Michelle Fischbach by a large margin.

I am AJ (John) Peters, the current US House candidate for the DFL in CD 7. I am running against either extreme Trump supporter Michelle Fischbach or Christian Nationalist Steven Boyd. See
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-gop-candidate-steve-boyd-wants-to-make-america-christian-again/600375355/&ved=2ahUKEwim8_ONm_SGAxV878kDHYJCBSgQFnoECBEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw30baMt-aaPX5KGTkGkJ0OP
or
https://www.startribune.com/battle-for-soul-of-minnesota-gop-pits-traditional-conservatives-against-rocks-and-cows-upstarts/600361004/.

You will notice neither article does mentions my name. Most of the newspapers and radio stations also have a very conservative bend. When I was running for State Senator in 2022, I paid for an interview on a Park Rapids radio station. Before talking to me, the interviewer played a 5 minute commercial for the Trump store and said it important to make sure that Trump won in 2024. A local newspapers said I had to pay for my press release of my endorsement while having an article about Steve Boyd.

Because of the issues, it is difficult to recruit candidates for rural areas. The DFL has to get paid special operatives to recruit candidates. It is tough to raise money from large donors because they want to put their money in the close races. It makes sense at some levels, but in close statewide races, the party needs to get out voters in the rural areas. In the last election, our state candidates (Julie Blaha, Keith Ellison) won by very narrow margins.

There are many scholarly articles that talk about this problem, but the best one I have found is by the Rural Urban Bridge. I will be following their guidelines during the campaign. See
https://ruralurbanbridge.org/
for more details.

I plan on following their guidelines and try to stay mostly on economic issues, but will address women’s health and separation church and state. If you have any questions, please contact me.

AJ (John) Peters
https://ajpetersforcongress.org
612-419-4033
ajpeters@ajpetersforcongress.org
33854 251^st Avenue
Browerville, MN 56438