Opinion: When even 'losing by less' helps, Democrats must engage rural voters. Wisconsin's Baldwin shows the way.

Tammy Baldwin campaigning in the Badger state.

If Democrats want to gain votes in rural America, they need to be present to win. In tight races, even cutting into Republican margins can swing an election -- "Just ask Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin," writes Karen Tumulty in her opinion for The Washington Post.

Last year, Baldwin kicked off her re-election campaign in conservative Richland County, Wisconsin, where Trump soundly won in 2020. But Baldwin also won the county. She's had a history of reaching out to rural communities, listening to their issues and touting her wins. Tumulty adds, "She cites bringing home $1.1 billion in federal funds to expand high-speed internet across Wisconsin and millions more to address the shortage of available child care that is particularly acute in rural areas."

Baldwin's strategic success with rural voters may be unusual, but other Democrats are catching on. "This year, Democrats up and down the ticket are waking up to something Baldwin recognized long ago: That Democrats cannot afford to ignore rural America, even as it has swung harder to the right," Tumulty adds. 

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who joined Baldwin's "One Year to Win” state tour kickoff, told Tumulty, “Elections in my state and here in Wisconsin often come down to a percentage point or less. You got to show up everywhere. You got to make sure that you’re meeting people where they are in communities like this that maybe historically haven’t voted your way.”

The Harris-Walz ticket also has taken from Baldwin's playbook. Tumulty writes, "They've made a point of campaigning in places like southern Georgia and western Pennsylvania, where they have little chance of winning outright but hope to cut into Trump’s margins. . . . It is the rare Democratic politician like Baldwin who can still win in rural areas. But in battleground states where polls show the race as tight as it is, even losing by less could make all the difference."