Vice President Harris and Walz, the governor of Minnesota, were joined by their spouses, Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, as they toured in a blue bus.
Walz again slipped into coach mode, reminiscing a bit about his days leading a team and the sport’s character before introducing Harris.
Both Harris and Trump are vying to see who can put Pennsylvania in their column on Nov. 5.
The bus tour marks Harris’ eighth trip to Pennsylvania this year, and her second this month.
In Rochester, Harris, Walz and their spouses spent a few minutes sitting at tables with volunteers and making phone calls to line up support.
ROCHESTER, Pa. (AP) — Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, and her running mate, Tim Walz, rallied campaign staff and a high school football team on Sunday. Their bus tour through a rural Pennsylvanian town served as a smaller-scale preview of the large-scale event that Harris is anticipated to host at the Democratic convention this week in Chicago.
Accompanied by their spouses, Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz of Minnesota took a tour in a blue bus. In addition to visiting a firehouse and a high school in a different town, they made a pilgrimage to a Sheetz convenience store, which is a part of a renowned Pennsylvania chain, after stopping to greet volunteers at a campaign office not far from Pittsburgh.
In order to avoid getting too political or specific during her stops, Harris and her running mate stuck to general themes about perseverance, character, and the future of the nation.
Harris discussed strength and leadership in front of a gathering of volunteers and supporters outside the Rochester, New York, campaign office. When she said that the “real and true measure of a leader’s strength is based on who they lift up” instead of who they beat down, it seemed to be a subliminal reference to Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president who is well-known for his pugilistic style and strongman image.
She yelled, receiving applause and cheers, “Anybody who is about beating down other people is a coward.”. “This is the appearance of strength. “.
“Let’s leave it all on the field,” Walz said to the volunteers, seemingly taking on the role of his former high school football coach. Come to an end to this. “.
Trump won Beaver County, where Rochester is located, in 2020. However, President Joe Biden withdrew his candidacy for reelection precisely four weeks ago and supported Harris to take his place on the ticket, which has given the Democrats newfound vigor.
A group of about fifty Trump supporters were waiting beside the road, holding signs endorsing the former president, as Harris’ motorcade sped out of town. Standing close by with their own signs were a few of Harris’s supporters.
Before going to a nearby high school, where they met with the local football coach and spoke to the team, who knelt on the field to listen, the vice president made her next stop at an Aliquippa firehouse, where she interacted with firefighters, stroked the station dog, and gave the crew almond pastries.
Before introducing Harris, Walz transitioned back into coach mode and spoke a little bit about his past experiences as a team leader and the nature of the game. “Our nation is counting on you and your excellence,” the speaker said, praising the young athletes for their leadership. We recognize your aspirations.
“Welcome to the role model club,” she added to them. “.
Candidates for president have long been drawn to southwestern Pennsylvania because it is an essential component of a crucial battleground state. The state cast ballots for Biden in 2020 and for Trump in 2016. In an attempt to claim Pennsylvania for themselves on November, both Trump and Harris are competing. 5.
According to most polls, including those from Fox News and the New York Times/Siena College, Harris and Trump are in a close race throughout the entire state.
After his earlier rallies in July in Harrisburg and Butler, where he narrowly avoided being assassinated, Trump held a rally on Saturday in Wilkes-Barre, in the northeastern region of the state.
Harris is visiting Pennsylvania for the eighth time this year—her second this month—on the bus tour. In Philadelphia on August 22, the vice president decided to make her first appearance together with Walz on the schedule. 6.
They greeted supporters at Pittsburgh International Airport on Sunday after arriving there earlier with their spouses. The foursome got on a bright blue bus with the words “Harris Walz” written in large white letters and raised their arms in front of yelling supporters. They were going to make stops around Pittsburgh to greet voters.
During a break in the Moon Township, Harris stopped by a Sheetz to get her favorite snack, Doritos.
Harris, Walz, and their spouses in Rochester took a few minutes to sit at tables with volunteers and arrange support by calling around.
Speaking with the person on the other end, Harris accepted a volunteer’s cellphone.
“Erie is my favorite place.”. We’ll get to Erie eventually,” Harris stated.
At one point, she carried on the conversation, saying, “79 days to go.”. “.
Harris was seated across the table from Walz, who hung up a call and said, “He’s all in,” giving the caller the thumbs up.
The University of Pittsburgh’s Kristin Kanthak, an associate professor of political science, stated that although Pennsylvania “has always been a very important state, the southwestern part of the state has historically been a real battleground.”. “.
Increased Democratic support in Pittsburgh, the state’s second-largest city and the county seat of Allegheny County, helped Biden win Pennsylvania in 2020 and, consequently, the White House. This occurred following Trump’s unexpected victory in the state in 2016.
In an effort to win over the blue-collar labor unions in the region, Biden actively courted them. He declared, “I am a union man,” at a Pittsburgh Teamsters hall to launch his 2020 presidential campaign. “.
Trump isn’t giving up on the region because he wants his base of white working-class voters to show up in large numbers. Trump has won both of his previous presidential campaigns thanks to the recent Democratic to Republican shift in the Pittsburgh area’s counties.
In addition, despite his claims to be pro-worker, Trump has embraced protectionist trade policies. His commitment to raise U. S. In blue-collar counties in southwest Pennsylvania like Washington, where natural gas drilling has boomed and made Pennsylvania the nation’s top state for energy production, the phrase “drill, baby, drill” has become well-known. 2 producer following Texas. Before recently recanting her previous position, which Trump has chastised her for, Harris sought to outlaw the fracking process, which is the extraction of natural gas.
Harris will utilize the bus trip to generate local media attention and connect with voters in the state’s southwest region “while she still has a great deal of momentum at her back,” according to Dana Brown, director of Chatham University’s Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics. “.
In part because they provide free media coverage, bus tours have become a standard feature of political campaigns. These trips allow the candidates to leave Washington and their power suits behind, allowing them to tour the nation and meet voters in casual settings like diners and mom-and-pop shops.
Monday marks the opening of the Democratic National Convention, which will provide a prime-time display of the Democratic ticket that director Steven Spielberg is assisting in choreographing, in place of the low-key locations of Harris’ campaign on Sunday.
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