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The Popular Soda Beloved By Tim Walz

Column: industry Tag: Tim Walz,Diet Mountain Dew ,Midwestern qualities,Political beverage choice Published: 2024-08-26 16:25 Source: www.mashed.com Author: HANNAH SKINNER

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz's Midwestern qualities keep popping up along the campaign trail. Walz was born and raised in Nebraska and moved to Minnesota in the '90s. He frequently attends the Minnesota State Fair, shops at the Midwestern home-improvement store Menards, and won a congressional hotdish competition (hotdish is a casserole-like dish from Minnesota). He also enjoys drinking Diet Mountain Dew — a very Midwestern trait.

According to the trade publication Beverage Digest (via USA Today), Mountain Dew is the fifth most popular soda in America. Its popularity is more concentrated in Midwestern and Southern states. However, the drink is not as commonly consumed on the West Coast (via Huffington Post). Out of all the Mountain Dew flavors, Walz's preference is the low-calorie and no-sugar option, Diet Mountain Dew. An avid fan of the soda, Walz frequently expresses his love of the soda on his X (formerly known as Twitter) account through photos and dad jokes. "Had to Dew it," Walz captioned a photo of him taking a bottle of Diet Mountain Dew off a store shelf.

Diet Mountain Dew is always by Tim Walz's side

Wherever Tim Walz goes, Diet Mountain Dew follows. "Nothing better than getting my day started with some #OneMinnesota Diet Mountain Dew," Walz tweeted in 2019. The drink also features as part of his favorite road trip snack: "Tough to beat a stop at Kwik Trip for some jerky and Diet Mountain Dew when I'm traveling around Minnesota," he commented on X. (Kwik Trip, for those who don't know, is a convenience store chain found throughout Minnesota and other nearby states.)

It turns out that Walz is not the only politician who opts for Diet Mountain Dew in the beverage aisle. Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance is also a Diet Mountain Dew fan. Vance, who hails from Ohio, made a toast with the drink at the end of a Newsmax interview, saying "This is the good stuff here. High caffeine, low calorie" (via The New York Times). At a rally in Ohio, he also implied that the opposing party would have certain judgments if they saw him drinking it: "I had a Diet Mountain Dew yesterday and one today. I'm sure they're gonna call that racist, too." Vance's statement fell flat, likely because soda choice is not politically charged. In fact, both vice presidential candidates can unite over enjoying Diet Mountain Dew (even if it comes up short in our ranking of diet sodas).

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