Walz to tour red districts where GOP is too scared to face constituents
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota will be touring a series of Republican-held House districts across the country, with his first stops in Iowa and Nebraska.
In the wake of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s firing of essential federal workers and disastrously unpopular budget plan, the GOP has chosen to refuse their increasingly anxious and angry constituents town halls.
Walz’s first stop is in Iowa’s 3rd District, which is represented by Republican Zach Nunn, who narrowly defeated Democrat Lanon Baccam in 2024.
When asked why he’s not scheduling any town halls, Nunn released a statement saying that he has “held hundreds of events with Iowans, including open forums and listening sessions in all 21 counties in the Iowa Third Congressional District. My record of delivering wins speaks for itself, and I’ll continue to always put Iowans first in D.C.”
But Walz isn’t so sure that Nunn has made himself available to his constituents.
“I'm going to go out there and make sure that those folks down in Iowa know that their rep doesn't want to come talk to him, but he voted for this stuff. I hope people show up at that town hall and say, look, governor, what are you offering? Are you offering anything better that's fair not to turn your back and not do it. It's dangerous,” Walz told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes.
After his stop in Iowa, Walz is planning to visit Nebraska’s 2nd District, which is represented by Republican Don Bacon. Bacon defeated Democratic candidate Tony Vargas in an even tighter race, and he has not held any official town halls since.
Though Bacon did briefly hold a “tele-town hall”—which wasn’t an actual town hall—he got such an earful from constituents that he even stopped doing that.
Walz first floated the idea of talking to Republican constituents after GOP leadership announced it would forgo town hall meetings in order to evade angry voters.
“That’s a shame. If your Republican representative won’t meet with you because their agenda is so unpopular, maybe a Democrat will. Hell, maybe I will. If your congressman refuses to meet, I’ll come host an event in their district to help local Democrats beat ‘em,” Walz wrote on X.
Walz plans on taking his town hall tour to GOP-held districts in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ohio.
Fellow progressives Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York have also announced anti-Trump tours through red districts.
Here’s a taste of what voters might see during one of Walz’s town halls:
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