In her remarks, Minnesota’s first lady highlighted political divisions, the state of reproductive rights and what she characterized as fundamental differences in character between the Democratic and Republican tickets.
WAUKESHA, Wis. (CN) — Gwen Walz, wife of current Minnesota governor and Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz, rallied for Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday in the historically red Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha.
Speaking to around 60 people at the Waukesha County Democratic Party’s downtown office, Walz focused heavily on what the Harris campaign has called a “New Way Forward” — a campaign strategy that emphasizes democratic ideals, fundamental freedoms and opportunity for all.
Walz was joined by Democratic Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Sarah Rodriguez, who lives in Waukesha County and has been campaigning for Harris across the state. The event was one of four scheduled for the Harris campaign in Wisconsin this week, with a final rally in Madison on Friday led by New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Between bouts of praise for the Harris ticket and reminders about the importance of door-knocking, Walz also made a point to criticize the Republican platform — though with less vitriol than other Democrats in recent weeks. She cast the Harris campaign’s New Way Forward as a foil to the conservative Project 2025.
“What they are offering with their Project 2025 agenda, no one is asking for,” Walz said. “When Trump took down Roe, he opened the floodgates for extreme abortion bans in more than 20 states. And now, he and Vance want to stick their noses even further into our bedrooms and our doctors’ offices by putting fertility treatments at risk.”
Though Walz did touch on some policy, including Democratic proposals to lower the cost of groceries and put restrictions on rent prices, Walz’s remarks primarily focused on the character of the Harris ticket. She emphasized to the crowd — which collectively booed at every mention of the former president’s name — that under a Harris administration, no one would be left behind.
“I am an English teacher, and words matter,” Walz said. “When we say everyone can chase their dreams and everyone can get ahead, that matters. We don’t mean some of us, and we don’t mean only the people who vote for us. We mean all of us.”
Walz went on to implore the room to “have a tough conversation with that one neighbor, who maybe has a sign in their yard that you don’t love. Because we aren’t giving up on them.”
The rally’s presence in Waukesha County was notable. The county has skewed Republican in every presidential election since 2000 — but organizers say that may be changing this year. The Waukesha County Democratic Party already boasts the largest party membership in Wisconsin, and its numbers are only growing, Lieutenant Governor Rodriguez said at the rally.
“Waukesha was once a Republican stronghold — but in recent years, more and more of my neighbors vote for Democrats,” Rodriguez said before introducing Walz. “That’s because we value common sense over extremism. The path to the White House runs through Waukesha.”
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