Cloquet, Minn. ? Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Friday talked up his economic and energy policies as he sought to chip away at President Bush’s support among rural voters.

With just over three weeks before he accepts his party’s nomination, Kerry embarked on a three-day bus tour through small Midwestern towns while his campaign bought $14 million of airtime for television ads in 18 battleground states and cable television.

Kerry told several hundred supporters at an outdoor rally outside of Duluth that small towns such as Cloquet — population 11,200 — continue to struggle despite recent economic gains because of Bush’s policies on trade, health care and budget cuts.

“Don’t tell us that losing 13,000 dairy farms in Minnesota is the best that we can do,” Kerry said. “We have the best family farms in America, but we’re denying those family farms the chance to be the best.”

Kerry also used economic numbers out Friday to challenge the Bush administration’s assertion that the economy is in good shape. The new figures showed that employers added 112,000 new payroll jobs in June — less than economists had anticipated — and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.6 percent for the third straight month.

The administration argued that 1.5 million new jobs have been created in the past 10 months. And, Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, said that Bush’s “pro-growth policies” were working in the state, which added 19,000 jobs during April and May.

Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt revived a 1996 comment Kerry made to The Boston Globe in criticizing the Democrat, saying, “John Kerry said he hates going to places like Dubuque (Iowa) but apparently even that won’t stop him from bringing his message of pessimism to the Midwest.”

Bush has a strong advantage in rural areas, easily outpacing Al Gore in 2000 among rural voters, 59 percent to 37 percent, according to exit polls. Bush also won the vote of those in small towns (10,000 to 50,000 population) by about the same margin.

Still, Kerry’s campaign hopes to attract some of those votes. His focused on his plan to repeal tax cuts for those making more than $200,000, support farmers and ranchers by prohibiting unfair practices such as packer ownership of livestock, and increase renewable fuels from corn, soybeans and other sources.

Later Friday, Kerry was to tour a farm in Bloomer, Wis., before heading to Independence, Wis., today and then to Dubuque, Iowa, where he will watch fireworks on the Mississippi river.

Democratic Presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., plays guitar with the Big Top Chautauqua Band during a rally at the Evergreen Stock Farm in Bloomer, Wisc. Kerry is on a three-day bus campaign trip through Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.