Harris Rides Momentum in Midwest as Vance Eyes Air Force Two
(Bloomberg) -- Vice President Kamala Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, took their campaign to crucial Midwest swing states to sell voters on their economic message — an effort Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, sought to undercut.
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The Democratic ticket held rallies in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and Detroit, Michigan — part of a campaign swing covering key battleground states in a bid to seize on momentum for Harris and introduce Walz, her vice presidential pick, to voters. Highlighting the importance of those states, Trump’s campaign also deployed Vance in a bid to counterprogram their opponents.
Vance started the day with an event in Michigan, speaking at a local police station in Macomb County, where he assailed Harris over the Biden administration’s immigration policies and response to the US-Mexico border crisis.
He then traveled to Wisconsin, landing at a local airport where Harris’ plane was already on the tarmac. The Ohio senator, flanked by Secret Service agents and staff, went over to speak to reporters by Air Force Two.
Later, speaking at a manufacturing facility in Eau Claire, Vance said he “went over there because I thought it might be nice to check out this plane that’s gonna be mine in a few months if we all take care of business, and I think we will.” And he took a jab at Harris, whom Republicans have accused of avoiding the press.
“I wanted to go and say hello to the journalists who are traveling along with the Vice President, because I figured they must be lonely because Kamala Harris doesn’t take any questions,” he said.
Vance’s stunt and a press conference where he stumbled in answering questions about what made him smile and if voters would want to have a beer with him threatened to intensify concerns among some Republicans about his candidacy. Republicans have expressed worries that the Ohio senator is struggling to appeal to voters beyond Trump’s dedicated base.
“I’m a normal guy,” Vance insisted Wednesday when asked about the criticism.
Harris campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa in a post on X mocked Vance for “flying around the country following” the vice president.
“Ummm this is getting weird,” Moussa added, repeating an insult Walz has deployed against the Republican ticket.
Vance, Walz Clash
With Trump largely absent from the campaign trail this week — his next big rally is on Friday in Montana, a state that is solidly in the Republican presidential column — the spotlight has largely been on the tickets’ running mates: Walz and Vance.
Vance is seeking to shore up his own standing after a rocky entrance to the campaign which has seen him draw criticism for past remarks mocking people without children, in particular women. For Walz, the week is a critical opportunity to introduce himself to voters.
Walz, in just his second day on the trail, has already demonstrated he is willing to hit harder against Trump and Vance.
“Donald Trump is not for you or your family. And Trump’s running mate shares those same dangerous and backward, beliefs,” Walz said in Wisconsin.
At a Tuesday rally in Philadelphia, Walz went after Vance with an even cruder attack. “I can’t wait to debate the guy,” Walz said. “That is if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up.”
Walz will be critical to Democratic hopes of reversing negative perceptions of the current administration’s economic policies that have alienated many blue-collar workers. At the Wisconsin rally, he warned voters Trump would be disastrous for the US economy and their pocketbooks.
“If he gets a chance to go back to the White House, it will be far worse than it was four years ago,” Walz said of Trump. “Raising costs for the middle class, repealing the Affordable Care Act, gutting Social Security and Medicare, the very safety nets that protect people when they’re down.”
Harris Momentum
This week’s campaign blitz marks the start of a three-month sprint to Election Day. Harris’ entry into the race as the new Democratic standard-bearer has seen her erase Trump’s lead in the polls and money advantage. An NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released Tuesday found Harris leading Trump 51% to 48% among registered voters nationally.
Harris’ campaign on Wednesday said it had raised $36 million in the first 24 hours after she tapped Walz.
The Wisconsin event was outdoors, with a festival atmosphere in many ways like one of Trump’s signature rallies, highlighting the enthusiasm among Democrats for the new ticket.
A line of cars waited to enter the event and the large crowd was treated to a performance by indie folk icon Bon Iver, who took the stage donning a camouflage Harris-Walz cap. Harris’ rallies have been exuberant affairs, with musical performers and DJs to hype up already energetic crowds.
It was the first time either presidential candidate has held an outdoor rally since the failed assassination attempt against Trump in Pennsylvania last month.
For their Detroit event, Air Force Two pulled up to a hanger allowing rallygoers to watch Harris and Walz arrive. The campaign said there were 15,000 people at the event — a figure Walz said he had been told was the largest of their campaign.
Harris clashed with a protester over the administration’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza. After being interrupted twice, Harris responded, “You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking.”
Also at the Detroit event was United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, who lambasted Trump as “bought and paid for by the billionaire class” and derided Vance as “a vulture.”
While many prominent labor leaders are backing Harris, Trump has demonstrated support among rank-and-file union members.
--With assistance from María Paula Mijares Torres.
(Updates throughout with details on Harris rally in Michigan)
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