EAU CLAIRE — Vice President Kamala Harris today proclaimed the path to the White House runs through Wisconsin as she campaigned in the state for the first time with newly minted running mate Tim Walz, the governor of neighboring Minnesota.
Just across town, GOP VP nominee JD Vance continued to take shots at Walz and Harris as national voters are getting their first introduction to the Minnesota guv.
During their rally, Harris ticked off a number of issues important to her and Walz, including affordable housing, health care, child care and paid leave.
Saying that prices still remain high for many Americans, Harris vowed to crack down on corporate greed to reverse that trend and knocked former President Donald Trump and the three members he appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court who voted to overturn Roe vs. Wade.
“If he wins in November, he will sign a national abortion ban,” Harris said, repeating a frequent attack on her GOP rival. “But we are not going to let that happen.”
She vowed when Dems have full control of Congress, she would sign legislation restoring abortion rights nationwide.
Walz, who had family members in the crowd, said to the supporters, “You came here for one beautiful, simple reason: You love this country and our democracy.”
Walz said people need to realize that if Trump is elected in 2024, “it will be far worse than it was four years ago” before leading the crowd in chanting “we are not going back.”
Harris’ campaign estimated 12,000 people turned out for the rally at an outdoor venue on the city’s far west side that hosts musical festivals and other events. It’s part of a tour of battleground states that began yesterday in Philadelphia.
During Harris’ visit, Vance spoke with reporters at Wollard International in Eau Claire alongside employees of the aviation equipment manufacturer.
The Ohio senator declined to commit to a debate with Walz, saying instead he was willing to debate Harris and suggesting it’s possible neither Walz nor Harris will be on the Dem ticket.
The party yesterday formally certified Harris as its presidential nominee and Walz as her running mate.
“We don’t know who the vice presidential nominee is going to be, either,” Vance argued. “He’s got a lot of skeletons that are coming out of the closet today, and we’ll see if the Democrats pull a bait and switch on Tim Walz or on Kamala Harris, just like they did with Joe Biden.”
Vance repeatedly charged Harris with avoiding reporters and suggested Walz was hypocritical for saying he stands for public safety, charging he “actively encouraged the rioters to burn down Minneapolis” during protests after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
“Working people need to live in communities with public safety, working people need to be able to build a business and know that some hoodlum isn’t going to come along and burn it to the ground because of a political issue, working people need the police to be supported in their communities, and Gov. Walz has been a total failure on all those things,” Vance said.
During the Harris-Walz rally, Dem Gov. Tony Evers warmed up the crowd before the vice president’s appearance, saying, “our work together begins today” in a “vigorous defense of our democracy.” He noted that both he and Walz are former teachers who became governors,
and “we go hog wild getting things done.”
U.S. Sen Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, running for reelection, emphasized the need to carry Wisconsin.
“The country knows the path to the presidency goes directly through the Midwest,” she said, adding, “We are THE battleground state.”
The visit to Wisconsin was Harris’ sixth of the year and the second since Biden dropped out of the race. Following up on a stop in suburban Milwaukee last month, Harris hit a western Wisconsin county that went 54.4%-43.6% for Biden in 2020 as he won the state by less than 21,000 votes.
Ahead of the rally, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, told reporters on a call that Walz was the wrong pick for Wisconsin voters because of his abortion policies and COVID-19 response.
Johnson said Walz “defends the mutilation of children” and “was one of the most militant governors” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“He’s all for abortion up to and beyond the moment of birth,” Johnson said. “Check out his record on this. This is the extreme position on abortion. That’s what Democrats are for.”
Johnson also said “there is a reason” Walz’s nickname is “Tampon Tim.” The name, given to Walz by Trump supporters, references an education finance bill requiring that Minnesota schools must provide students in fourth through twelfth grades with free access to menstrual products.
Johnson added the Harris-Walz ticket is “probably the most radical left nominees for president and vice president in U.S. history.”
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