ormer DNC Chair Jaime Harrison is launching what he calls a seven-figure campaign aimed at “expanding the map” for Democrats in rural areas and small towns that tend to be friendly to Republicans.

Harrison told NBC News he believes the 2026 election carries parallels to 2006, when Democrats won in many conservative areas. Harrison, who ran an unsuccessful 2020 campaign for U.S. Senate in South Carolina and chaired the DNC from 2021 to this February, has proven to be an adept fundraiser and is using his PAC, Dirt Road Dems, to push the new campaign.

“Dirt Road Dems is unique because most PACs focus on major metros and battlegrounds. They are skating to where the puck is and we are focused on where the puck is going and should be. We are treating rural communities as winnable and not write-offs,” Harrison said. “We are building for longevity and not just one cycle.”

“We are focused on the types of districts that we won in 2006 that were not on the DCCC’s radar,” he added. “These are the types of districts that tend to be surprises in wave elections.”