Amy Klobuchar to embark on tour of 'blue wall' states
September 16, 2019Sen. Amy Klobuchar is kicking off a “blue wall” tour this week, making stops in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, according to a schedule shared with POLITICO.
The Minnesota Democrat has centered her presidential bid on her ability to win back those states — once considered part of a blue wall of Democratic strength in presidential elections — that Donald Trump flipped in 2016.
Klobuchar, a moderate, leaned into her pragmatism at last week’s Democratic National Committee debate in Houston, telling voters that “if you feel stuck in the middle of the extremes in our politics and you are tired of the noise and the nonsense, you’ve got a home with me.”
The tour starts on Tuesday in Philadelphia, where Klobuchar will participate in the 2020 Workers Presidential Summit. On Wednesday, Klobuchar will stop in Pittsburgh, followed by events in Detroit and Milwaukee on Thursday. Her campaign said the senator would focus on economic issues, particularly investing in infrastructure and strengthening rural and agricultural communities.
But Klobuchar, who launched her presidential bid in February, has struggled to break out of the sprawling Democratic primary field, averaging just 1.2 percent in national polling, according to RealClear Politics.
In Houston, Klobuchar drew a strong contrast between herself and the progressives on the debate stage, telling Sen. Bernie Sanders that she had “read” his Medicare for All bill and that on “Page 8 … it says that we will no longer have private insurance as we know it.”
“I don’t think that’s a bold idea,” Klobuchar said. “I think it’s a bad idea.”
Source: https://www.politico.com/