| President Joe Biden, no longer a candidate, was in swing-state Wisconsin yesterday to promote his administration’s investments in rural America. That includes expansion of broadband or high-speed internet as well as electricity lines. “Just like we're making the most significant investment in rural electrification since FDR, we're also making the most significant investment ever in affordable, high-speed internet because affordable high-speed internet is just as essential today as electricity was a century ago,” Biden said, referring to New Deal-era President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Democrats know they face political headwinds in rural parts of the country, but they hope to keep Republicans from building up runaway margins this fall.
After largely avoiding detailed interactions with reporters covering the presidential race, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has begun doing several, brief local media interviews. One was yesterday with a public radio station in Michigan, WCMU . He was deliberate in slipping in the going price for a bushel of corn and soybeans and a hundredweight of milk. He did so in defending a price-gouging proposal put forward by the Harris-Walz campaign. The vice presidential nominee also said he’s willing to cooperate with a GOP-led Congressional subpoena for additional information about how the state responded to the Feeding our Future fraud case. Walz told the Michigan station that the Minnesota Department of Education helped flag potential wrongdoing in the federal program designed to help feed kids during the pandemic. Investigations revealed that roughly $250 million were improperly diverted from the program. "My team will comply with everything that they need. The House will do what the House is going to do but we're confident that the folks who perpetuated this crime are not in state government, they are now in prison,” Walz said.
Walz campaigned for a second day on Thursday in Pennsylvania, where the 19 electoral college votes could decide the presidency. Throughout his trip to the Keystone state, Walz has been stopping by Democratic field offices, visiting bellwether counties and scooping up greasy eats and ice cream treats. He’s been posing for photos on farms and shaking hands outside local diners. According to pool reports compiled by the Star Tribune’s Rochelle Olson, Walz has been bragging up Minnesota while heaping praise on Pennsylvania, trying to draw similarities “You know how to deal with snow here,” Walz said to applause.
We noted the distant Walz relatives in Nebraska who are showing their preference for former President Donald Trump. Nebraska could loom large in the race given the one electoral vote that will be awarded to the winner of a swing district that includes Omaha. Nebraska Public Media reporter Brian Beach spoke with some people in the birth state of Walz who are keeping tabs on his political ascent.
Hunter Biden, the son of President Biden, faces years in prison after pleading guilty to federal tax evasion charges. Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea as his case was heading to trial. It involves charges that he failed to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. The president has previously said he would not pardon his son following a conviction on a separate gun charge. Hunter Biden’s legal troubles have been the subject of Republican congressional scrutiny and were used against his father during his now-ended campaign for another term.
There was a dust-up in the courtroom yesterday, after former President Donald Trump’s attorney suggested that efforts to prosecute Trump for federal election interference were “illegitimate.” Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a revised indictment last week that removed some allegations following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling, narrowing the scope of the prosecution. In court, Trump’s attorney John Lauro said the federal court could be creating “an illegitimate indictment from the get-go” as the court sets a timeframe for advancing the case, especially with the presidential election rapidly approaching, The Associated Press reports. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected the complaints and said, “I’ve said before … that the electoral process and the timing of the election … is not relevant here. The court is not concerned with the electoral schedule.”
The Trump campaign’s plans for Minnesota are in doubt just weeks after saying it would prioritize the state.Axios reports that the pivot comes as the campaign hones in on Blue Wall states Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Earlier this summer, Trump and his running mate JD Vance rallied in Minnesota and said the state was in play for Republicans. And they committed to opening eight campaign offices and adding staff. It’s unclear how many will eventually open. Trump has not reserved any ad time in the Twin Cities market while Harris is booked to run ads through the election, although her reservations could change if the state is seen as in hand. | 
