Joe Troop And His Banjo Premiere “The Ballad of Tim Walz”
In celebration of a historic Democratic National Convention, RuralVote.org commissioned Grammy-nominated bluegrass musician Joe Troop to write a new bluegrass song titled “The Ballad of Tim Walz.”
“Watch The Ballad of Tim Walz” by Joe Troop
Joe Troop is a North Carolina-based folk musician for the people. He currently tours nationwide with his Latingrass duo, Larry & Joe.
In the song, Joe celebrates Governor Tim Walz's rural roots and calls on rural voters to check their voter registration, get their friends and family to vote for the Harris-Walz ticket, and put up a yard sign.
Over the last several months, our team at RuralVote.org has recruited over 4,000 volunteers in 750 towns across five battleground states. Together, these volunteers have already placed 28,000 yard signs!
Based on our own field experiments, we know that each sign placed in a yard generates between 4 and 6 conversations. That means our yard sign program has already generated over 150,000 conversations about voting between friends, family, and neighbors.
If you would like to purchase a "Small Town Voter for Harris-Walz" sign for yourself, click here.
Yard signs for sale from RuralVote.org
Yard signs are making a come back this year, and our battleground program is at the forefront of this new trend in American politics. We have undertaken a robust yard sign operation to engage progressives in rural communities. The response has exceeded our expectations — and as we explain below, our research has shown that each sign generates four to six conversations. This kind of direct engagement has often been missing in these communities. And the messenger, in this case the person putting up the sign, is a known entity in their community. In other words, a known validator.
The lack of rural visibility is costing Democratic candidates critical votes in small towns and rural communities. When we did focus groups with persuadable rural voters, we heard, "Where are you? I hear you, but you're not present in my everyday life." and "I don't see Democrats in our area."
The visible retreat of Democrats has had an impact on the politics of rural America. National rural Democratic vote share has fallen from 42.9% in 2008 to 33.1% in 2020 — a 9.8 percentage-point decrease (Source: Haystaq Analytics). A ‘D’ next to a candidate’s name costs them 35 points in rural areas (Source: YouGov Blue). By 2040, 66% of Americans will be represented by 30 percent of the Senate (Source: Washington Post). The only way to cut margins in Rural America is if local rural Dems take the lead and “come out of the shadows.”
Meanwhile, rural Democrats are lonely, timid, and feel neglected. Rural voters haven’t seen the Democratic Party in their community, or they don’t see themselves reflected in the Democratic party.
“Coming out of the shadows” and being visible will spark conversation and build Democratic unity and community. Our yard signs are one way of trying to address this.
If you would like to donate money to send free yard signs to battleground states, click here.
If you would like to follow Joe Troop on social media, you can find him on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
