The Democratic ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz has made its first joint appearance in Wisconsin—holding a rally in Eau Claire. The rally drew many people familiar with Tim Walz’s record in neighboring Minnesota. Longtime Teamster Bob Vickney of Amery Wisconsin said he’s glad Walz — just named Tuesday as Harris’ running mate — talked about his life experience.
"Average working guy. Farm kid. Like you and me. No lawyer. Just your regular guy. A teacher. My daughter’s a school principal. He’s a teacher," Vickney said.
Wednesday’s event drew some people from Milwaukee, including Demetria Anderson and her friend Karen Nelson. They made the trip — four hours one way — because they say they’re now excited about the Democratic ticket. Meaning now that President Joe Biden has ended his campaign and Vice President Kamala Harris is the nominee for president.
Anderson mentions being on a large group call for Democratic supporters on July 21, a few hours after Biden announced his decision. “I was one of the 44,000, I think we were both one of the 44,000 on that call Sunday night — just invigorated, excited — we both donated to the campaign immediately," Anderson said.
Both Milwaukee women said they like what they heard from Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, during Wednesday’s rally.
One of Harris’ topics — she used to be California’s attorney general — was a vow to lower the cost of living.
“Prices for every day things like groceries are still too high. You know it, and I know it. When I was attorney general, I went after price fixing schemes. And when I am president, it will be a day one priority to fight to bring down prices. I will take on big corporations that engage in illegal price gouging. I will take on corporate landlords that unfairly raise rents on working families. I will take on Big Pharma and cap the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans," Harris said, to huge cheers from the audience of more than 10,000 people at the Eau Claire Event District site.
Walz — Minnesota’s governor since 2019 — took on the record of Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump and Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.
But Walz also tried to emphasize his life experience, including as a teacher.
“It’s noble work. I had the privilege of teaching public schools, social studies, and coaching football for 20 years. And for all you Packers and Badgers fans, yeah, we did win a state championship. It’s what we do," Walz said to laughter and cheers.
The other Milwaukee woman we heard about earlier in this story, Karen Nelson, said she really likes Walz.
“Oh, he’s America’s dad! I don’t know if you heard me yell out when he came on stage, ‘Put me in, Coach!’ I mean, everybody can relate to him. My mom was a school teacher for 30 years. He nearly was for 30 years," Nelson said.
But Vance has unfavorable things to say about Walz.
At a business in Eau Claire Wednesday, Vance criticized the governor’s handling of public safety in Minneapolis, during protests after police killed city resident George Floyd in 2020.
“I’m scandalized by this guy pretending to be for working people. Working people need to be living 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," Vance said.
Vance also tried working on his softer side, responding to a reporter's question as to why someone would like to have a beer with him.
“Uh, well, I guess they’d want to have a beer with me because I actually do like to drink beer. I probably like to drink beer a little bit too much. But that’s OK. I’m sure the media won’t give me too much crap over that," Vance said.
Vance adds that he and Trump like to meet what Vance calls "normal people."
Expect Vance, Trump, Harris and Walz in Wisconsin again before November — probably several times. The latest election poll from Marquette University shows Trump and Harris basically tied among registered voters in Wisconsin.
Audio of Sen. J.D. Vance from PBS NewsHour.
