Minnesota GOP leader sounds alarm on Walz trying to 'bamboozle' rural voters: 'Bernie Sanders in flannel'

DULUTH, Minn. - The Republican Party chair of a rural county in central Minnesota is blasting the prevalent media narrative that Gov. Tim Walz is a "moderate" and tells Fox News Digital that rural voters across the country are being "bamboozled" by that talking point.

"I do have a message for most of our rural people here and anybody else that may be watching this, please, you're getting hoodwinked," Lowell Smith, a state college educator and chair of the Crow Wing County GOP in Brainerd, Minnesota, told Fox News Digital. 

"You're getting bamboozled. He's lying to you. He is not for rural America. He only cares about very liberal policies that would be embraced by the elite. He's not for us. He's basically. You can't remember who said it, but he really is. Bernie Sanders and flannel. They're trying to market him as not being that. But he's a liberal just dressed in flannel. He's against the Second Amendment. He's not for rural America."

Smith continued, "Governor Walz’s values do not align with much of rural Minnesota at all, or for much of rural America. He kind of originally ran to try and be a moderate, but every policy he has taken, everything that he has done since being elected has been ultra liberal and nothing has reflected that he's a moderate at all, so it made perfect sense that Kamala Harris picked him to be her running mate."

Smith told Fox News Digital that when he speaks to rural voters in Minnesota, "everybody’s really angry" about Walz "letting the state burn for about four days" during the George Floyd riots in 2020 that caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

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A rural GOP chair in Minnesota told Fox News Digital Gov. Tim Walz is trying to "bamboozle" rural voters.

Additionally, Smith pointed to the tax policy and business climate under Walz in Minnesota and said that Democrats in control of the state have "squandered" a $17 billion surplus under Walz’s leadership.

The nonpartisan Tax Foundation's State Business Tax Climate Index for 2024, which was published in October 2023, ranked Minnesota as having the 44th best tax climate for businesses in the country.

An analysis published by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in January found that Minnesota's tax code was the most progressive of all 50 states, with only the District of Columbia having a more progressive tax code.

"In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and their personal choices that they make," Walz told a Philadelphia crowd about abortion during his introduction as Vice President Kamala Harris’ vice presidential pick. "Even if we wouldn’t make the same choice for ourselves, there’s a golden rule: Mind your own damn business."

Smith told Fox News Digital that rural voters in Minnesota take issue with that claim given Walz’s record on COVID, which he has been widely criticized for by Republicans.

"His policies did not reflect that at all," Smith said. "He set up a tip line to where, basically, you could snitch off your neighbor if they were not wearing their mask, or they kept their business open and there would be civil fines attached to that." 

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Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaks during a campaign event on Aug. 7, 2024 in Detroit. Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz are campaigning across the country this week. (Andrew Harnik)

"So that was kind of reminiscent for up here back in communism when you had family members spying on family members and that is not what us in rural Minnesota really believe in."

Smith told Fox News Digital that residents in his county colloquially refer to Walz as "Tampon Tim" due to his policies on transgender issues, including allowing menstrual products to be placed in school bathrooms across the country, including boys' bathrooms. Democrats have pushed back against that line of attack, but Smith says that Walz has essentially made Minnesota a "sanctuary state" for transgender issues.

"Embracing that transgender ideology, so much so that he's made Minnesota a sanctuary state to where if you're a minor in Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, and your parents do not agree with you, you can drive into Minnesota, then at that point, for lack of a better term, Minnesota can take possession of you and allow you to get that transgender surgery or health care without your parents consent or even knowledge," Smith said. "Even in Minnesota, if your child is gender confused, the state may step in and take your child and allow health care directives to be directed toward your child against the parent's wishes. This just does not sit well with us up here."

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Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz gesture during a campaign rally at the Thomas and Mack Center, University of Nevada in Las Vegas on Aug. 10, 2024. (RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images)

Smith told Fox News Digital that residents around Brainerd are so fed up with Walz’s policies that a local business along Highway 10 in Royalton, Minnesota, put up a sign seen by thousands of motorists showing Walz with his head inserted in his rear end that reads, "Gov. Walz, Northern MN is trying to see things from your point of view. Sponsored by Rocks & Cows of the North."

The "Rocks & Cows" refers to a comment made by Walz in 2017 about rural America that the Trump campaign has seized on, but some say was taken out of context.

Fox News Digital asked Smith what issues rural voters in his county tell him they are most concerned about in the November election.

"The top three issues that we hear first and foremost is our budget nationally as far as our money," Smith explained.  "We want to ensure that we have a strong economy and that does not look to be going that well. The next thing will be control of crime. Crime is rampant through most of the democratically controlled areas and people want to be safe in their neighborhoods and in their homes."

"Lastly would be the control of the border, which would be the massive flood or what we hear up here, as they call it, an invasion from other countries into our country every week. Those are the three things that I hear most, from the people in our county."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris Walz campaign for comment but did not receive a response.

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..