Voters like Tim Walz’s Midwest background as he campaigns for Omaha’s ‘Blue Dot’

Tim Walz returned to his home state, and a district which could help decide the 2024 election. Voters welcomed him with open arms.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president, spent one of the last Saturdays of the 2024 presidential campaign sweeping through the lower Midwest with events in Illinois and in Nebraska.

Why Nebraska? Because this year, its 2nd Congressional District could be decisive in the outcome of the election.

The blue dot 

Nebraska and Maine are unique when it comes to presidential elections because they split their electoral votes by district, and though Nebraska is typically considered a red state,the 2nd Congressional District is often called the Blue Dot because of how it shows up on voting results maps.

“Let me be very clear what this blue dot symbolizes,” Walz said. “This blue dot symbolizes democracy. It symbolizes decency. It symbolizes a woman’s right to make her own choices. It’s a lot more than a pin, and it’s a lot more than just politics. It’s about who we are as people.”

In 2008 and 2020, Former-President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden won Nebraska’s 2nd district, and one of Nebraska’s five electoral college votes.

In 2016, former-president Donald Trump won the second district by 6,534 votes. In 2020, by contrast, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris won the district by 22,091.

The second district is Nebraska’s smallest by area and it includes Omaha, its metro area, suburbs, and some small towns to the west. The Harris campaign has invested heavily in the district as a key to victory.

According to Nebraska Democrats, there are also more volunteers and more donations than they’ve seen in years. The group said there were about 1,700 people at the event, held at the SumTur Amphitheater in Papillion, a city just south of Omaha.

Congressional Republicans and members of Trump’s campaign tried in September to pressure the Nebraska Legislature to change its electoral college voting rules to help Trump. One state senator— Mike McDonnell—was the deciding figure to keep the vote from going through.

Enthusiasm drawing former-Republicans, people who haven’t been involved before

Voters at the rally were confident about Harris winning the second district because the energy feels different. They’ve seen and heard more enthusiasm for Harris and Walz in yard signs and the number of volunteers knocking on doors and making phone calls.

“I’m feeling great. I don’t want it to come down to Nebraska’s second district, I want it to be a huge win. But we are ready, as Tim said, to bring this home, to put it over the top,” said Stephanie Bluma, an Omaha voter.

Bluma said the energy Harris and Walz have inspired is obvious throughout the district. She’s even seen it spilling out to Lincoln, another major metro area that consistently swings blue—but is part of the first congressional district—and other areas.

“What I can tell you is people from Lincoln are coming to the second district to help knock on doors, to make phone calls, to do everything we’re doing here,” Bluma said. “So yes, I do think there is potential for it to spread well beyond the second district.

Several voters said this was their first time at a political rally.

“I’ve always been very apolitical because I didn’t think my opinion mattered and didn’t feel like it made a difference,” said Kirsten Sebastian. “But after Trump got elected in 2016, I started trying to pay more attention. I’m far more involved this round because of Roe v. Wade getting overturned and all.”

Sebastian said she’s also concerned about the violent rhetoric Trump and his vice-presidential nominee JD Vance spew and she worries about a repeat of the violence that happened on Jan. 6, 2021. She said the vision Harris and Walz offer is better.

“I want positivity, I want hope. I want to feel like I’m safe. And I feel like Harris and Walls are in a much better position to make that happen,” she said.

Sebastian trusts Walz and she knows more about him than Harris, but Walz’s confidence in Harris has made her a believer too.

“I’ve been watching all the interviews. I’ve been trying to get to know her better, and the faith that he has in her is very encouraging,” she said.

Laura Diaz, a former Republican who hasn’t voted for a Democrat until Harris, said she went to the rally because she wants to be part of showing that Harris and Walz have support, and to “turn the page on all the ugly hatefulness that Trump has brought.”

“I’ve never showed up for any political thing before, but then they came on the stage,” she said.

Over and over again, voters pointed to Walz’s work in Minnesota—like making school lunches free—as a sign of his character and what he would bring to the national stage. Many described him as down-to-earth and trustworthy.

“I like that Walz is from Nebraska. I like that he is an average person. He’s not a millionaire just wanting to get more money,” said Anne Schmidt. “And I like Harris just being reasonable and the way she wants to fight for women’s rights, the way she wants to fight for individuals, and the fact that she’s been working her whole life as a prosecutor.”

Walz emphasizes Midwest roots

Walz drew on his connection to the state several times in the rally. He grew up in small towns in Northern Nebraska, and went to college in the state’s panhandle. That was also where he got his first teaching job and where he met his wife, Gwen.

Walz talked about Harris’ economic plans to make starting a business and buying a home easier. He also stressed common sense gun control laws and gave shout-outs to the Democrats running for Congress and local offices.

Walz also warned about the danger a second Trump presidency would pose to national security, health care, and reproductive rights. He also highlighted the ways a second Trump presidency would be worse because the Supreme Court has granted presidential immunity to official acts, and Trump could have the chance to appoint even more justices.

He mentioned Project 2025, the rightwing playbook for a second Trump presidency, and the warnings issued by Trump’s former staff that he would be a danger to the country.

“The Donald Trump of 2016 is not the Donald Trump that’s running now,” Walz said. “He is far more unfit than he was in 2016. He’s more deranged. He’s more desperate to keep his butt out of prison than he was in 2016. And he has made sure there’s no guardrails.”

And yet, Walz said he had hope because people keep showing up and pushing back. He encouraged Nebraskans to vote early, to vote on election day, and to help friends and family make plans to vote.

“Look, folks, we do this the right way. We do it the American way. We get organized, we make the phone calls, we do the door knocks, and we clean his clock on Election Day,” Walz said.

“You could have been anywhere. You chose to come here because you believe in the promise of America and you love this country.”