One way Democrats are looking to take back control of Congress is by making inroads with rural voters, especially in races that are unexpectedly competitive this year. In some of those key races, that means trying to change the narrative around guns. I traveled to some of those more rural districts and spoke to Democratic candidates about how they’re looking to reshape an issue that has traditionally fallen along party lines. …
Mitchell Berman (Democratic candidate for Congress, Wisconsin): I grew up hunting and fishing.
Ryan Nobles: It’s a way of life for Mitchell Berman, an ER nurse and first-time Democratic candidate for Congress—a way of life that involves a gun.
Guns have been a part of your life. Where’s the balance there?
Mitchell Berman: We can have common-sense policy that will help reduce gun violence without infringing on the Second Amendment.
Ryan Nobles: Berman is part of a group of Democratic candidates hoping to start a new conversation around guns as part of a strategy to win back rural voters. Berman isn’t alone. In South Texas, Democrat Bobby Pulido has been a hunter his entire life.
Bobby Pulido (Democratic candidate for Congress, Texas): My oldest son, his name is Remington, named after the Remington 700 bolt-action rifle.
Ryan Nobles: He too is hoping to meet rural voters where they are.
Bobby Pulido: Now, do we need smarter gun legislation? We do, and I’m willing to work on that. Does it…do bans work? I think it’s lazy legislating.