Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz addressed a raucous crowd of thousands in Eau Claire Wednesday, making their first pitch to Wisconsin voters as the Democratic presidential ticket.
They were joined in the city on the same afternoon by Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, underscoring the electoral importance of Wisconsin in both campaigns’ efforts to secure the presidency.
The atmosphere around the Harris-Walz event at Country Jam USA festival grounds north of Eau Claire was, at times, chaotic. People waited for hours to see the two speak, and with traffic at a standstill before the rally, some walked miles just to get inside.
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Walz said he couldn’t be prouder to be on the presidential ticket with Harris, and said her experience as a district attorney, attorney general and U.S. senator pairs well with his experience as a teacher, Army National Guard veteran, member of Congress and governor. He said both of their careers have been about public service.
“But I’ll tell you what, Donald Trump, he sees the world differently than we see it,” Walz said. “He has no understanding of service because he’s too busy servicing himself, again and again and again.”
The line drew a burst of laughter from the crowd as Walz continued his point.
“This guy weakens our country to strengthen his own hands,” said Walz. “He mocks our laws, he sows chaos and division amongst the people and that’s to say nothing of the job he did as president.”
The Minnesota governor also took a shot at Vance, his counterpart on the Republican ticket.
“You know, just like all of us in regular America, we go to Yale and then we have our careers funded by silicon valley billionaires,” said Walz. “And then, you write a book about the place you grew up and you trash that place. C’mon! That’s not who Wisconsin is. That’s not who Minnesota is. We’re better than that.”
When Walz said he can’t wait to debate Vance, the crowd erupted.
At one point during the program, Walz paused his remarks to request aid for someone in the audience who appeared to be suffering from heat-related symptoms. Roughly a dozen people left the rally at times, apparently due to the heat.
Harris: Path to White House runs through Wisconsin
The most intense reaction from the crowd came when Harris walked onstage, joking that it had been a big week for her.
On Monday, she became the official presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, and shortly afterward, she announced that Walz would join her on the ticket.
Harris said Walz held several titles, but in 90 days, the nation would know him as vice president.
“The path to the White House runs right through this state,” Harris said. “And with your help, we will win.”
Harris said her experience as a prosecutor and California attorney general makes her uniquely qualified to face Trump. She said she’s taken on predators who abuse women and scammers, before referencing Trump’s court appearances for sexual assault and fraud.
“So hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump’s type,” said Harris. “In fact, I’ve been dealing with people like him my whole life.
Harris said her campaign is about two “very different visions for our nation.” Democrats, she said, are focused on the future, while Trump and Vance are focused on the past.
“We fight for a future where every worker has the freedom to join a union,” said Harris. “We fight for a future where every senior can retire with dignity, a future where we build a broad-based economy and one where every American has the opportunity to own a home, to start a business, to build wealth. And understand, in this fight, we are joyful warriors.”
Vance visits Eau Claire to provide ‘contrast’ to Harris, Walz
Less than four miles from Harris’ rally, Vance held a closed event for press at Wollard International, an aviation equipment manufacturer on Eau Claire’s northwest side. He was joined by around 50 employees of the company and his wife, Usha Vance.
The Republican vice presidential nominee opened his remarks by mentioning that he and Harris landed at the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport at the same time for their competing campaign stops.
“I went over there, because I thought it might be nice to check out this plane that’s going to be mine in a few months if we all take care of business,” Vance said, getting laughs and some applause from his supporters.
Vance told reporters he visited Eau Claire on the same day to provide a “contrast” to Harris, whom he attacked for her record on the economy, immigration and national energy policy.
“She has not been a good vice president for the American people, and I don’t think she deserves a promotion. I think she deserves to be fired,” Vance told reporters.
It was the Ohio U.S. senator’s first campaign stop in the state since receiving the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month. He made a similar appearance on Wednesday morning in Michigan, another battleground state.
Vance appealed to working class voters in his remarks, saying he and Trump share an “admiration for the people who actually make the country run.”
“I think that that’s one of the reasons why I’d make a good vice president, is because I actually care about the people standing behind me,” Vance said, referring to the Wollard International employees. “I think they feel like I care for them, and I think they care for me too.”
Vance said Democratic policies that limit U.S. oil and gas production will further drive up energy costs and hurt manufacturers like the one in Eau Claire. He described Trump’s energy policy as “drill, baby, drill”.
He also repeatedly spoke about the negative effects of illegal immigration, relating to rising fentanyl deaths, the financial struggles of rural hospitals and the shortage of agricultural workers.
Vance said he hopes to debate Walz, whom he criticized for the governor’s handling of protests in Minneapolis after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
Thousands wait hours to see Harris, Walz
Wednesday’s rally was Harris’ second visit to Wisconsin in as many weeks, and her sixth visit to the state this year.
All indications are that the race is tight. In the latest Marquette University Law School Poll released Wednesday, Trump led Harris 50-49 among registered voters, while Harris led Trump 50-49 among likely voters.
Among the thousands who attended Wednesday’s Harris-Walz rally was 17-year-old Lillian Hoeschen of Chippewa Falls, who said she parked on a country road and walked a mile to the event. She told WPR she’ll turn 18 before the November general election, and when President Biden dropped out of the race and Harris stepped in, she became more excited about casting her first ballot.
“The day that it was announced that Joe Biden was dropping out and she was going to be appointed, the hope that I felt was so fulfilling for me, because I just think that being a first time voter I wasn’t really loving my options,” Hoeschen said. “And now, I’m like, super ready to be politically active and get out and vote.”
Hoeschen said it’s “super impactful” for her to see a woman of color representing the country and said Harris supports many of the same causes she does, like women’s reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ rights.
Alyssa Van Duyce of Eau Claire was standing in an overflow crowd area with her nine-year-old daughter, Avery. She said she was extremely excited about Harris’ announcement that she’d run in Biden’s place.
“She’s a female, potentially the first female president,” Van Duyce said. “I absolutely had to bring my daughter out here because this could be and is a momentous occasion and historic.”
Van Duyce said she hadn’t heard much about Walz, even though he’s been governor of Minnesota, which is just more than an hour west of Eau Claire. But she said she’s done her homework, and she’s impressed with his ethics and morals.
When asked what her first impression of Walz was, Van Duyce was brief.
“Dad vibes, right? He’s amazing,” said Van Duyce.
Kheron Jones-Kassing of Alemeda, California wound up at the Eau Claire rally by chance. She said she was visiting her husband’s family in the city, “and it was just in the stars to be here.”
Jones-Kassing said she is a Biden supporter and would have voted for him, but she was “a little concerned about longevity.”
“I think his performance during the debates, just a little concerned about that,” said Jones-Kassing. “I think we were going to vote that way anyway. I don’t know if the whole nation was going to do that.”
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