‘He doesn’t come off as scary’: Walz leaves his impression in Wisconsin
Harris and Walz addressed an estimated audience of 12,000 in Eau Claire.
TroibNews 
EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin — Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign quickly tested the Midwestern appeal of Tim Walz by holding a lively rally on Wednesday at a Wisconsin county fairgrounds, surrounded by cornfields near his home state.
The event drew significant attention, evidenced by the heavy traffic.
Harris and Walz addressed an estimated crowd of 12,000 people in Eau Claire, where attendees waited in a line stretching nearly two miles. They were eager to hear from a Democratic ticket that saw a fundraising surge following the Minnesota governor's addition. Many people abandoned their cars in Wisconsin farmlands and walked the final mile to catch the speeches.
On stage, Walz reminded the crowd of “Packers and Badgers fans” about his days coaching a high school football team to a state championship and boasted about being the “top gun at the trap shoot three years in a row” during his tenure in Congress.
He highlighted that being Midwestern means “car[ing] for your neighbors, kindness,” and spoke of his experience representing a “red district” in Congress, where he “learned how to compromise without compromising my values.”
The rally felt almost like a hometown event for Walz, whose Minnesota media markets extend into rural Wisconsin. It was the first significant test of Harris’ strategy to leverage her running mate's appeal to white, working-class voters crucial in the Midwest and Rust Belt.
Zac McCrary, a Democratic pollster specializing in rural voters, noted, “Selecting Walz is a signal that she and the campaign think she can be competitive enough in rural, small-town areas, and her path to 270 still does cut through the Rust Belt... She picked a white guy governor from the Midwest who can go into small towns in the Midwest and help her with those voters." McCrary added, “He’s more Friday Night Lights than White Lotus, so that’s an important signal.”
The Harris campaign believes it has multiple routes to secure 270 electoral votes, not just through Blue Wall states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, but also through Sun Belt states. Early polling indicates this might be feasible, with Harris gaining ground over Biden in the Sun Belt and maintaining her position in Wisconsin.
A Marquette University Law School poll, released Wednesday, showed Harris 1 percentage point ahead of former President Donald Trump in Wisconsin, within the margin of error. This is comparable to the university's June poll, conducted before Biden's difficult debate in Atlanta, where he was 2 points ahead of Trump.
In a recent memo, the Harris campaign revealed it has over 600 coordinated staff in Blue Wall states, with plans to add 150 more in early August. In Wisconsin, the campaign operates 48 offices in 43 counties, including 32 that Trump won in 2020 and 13 he won by more than 20 points.
Despite this, there remains a significant Republican presence in Wisconsin. Dan Kanninen, the campaign’s battleground states director, mentioned in the memo that to win, the campaign must close margins in rural areas of the state.
Former Rep. Ron Kind, a Democrat who represented a western Wisconsin district for over two decades before retiring in 2022, commented, “Democrats can’t get blown out in the rural areas... We can still win in these places, but you need the right candidate, the right messenger, and Tim was able to do that in southern Minnesota, too.”
Walz's initial congressional win in 2006 saw him securing a rural, red-leaning district with 53 percent of the vote. His presence at the rally aimed to appeal to a similar electorate. On Tuesday, the Harris campaign began selling camo-colored baseball caps with “Harris Walz” in orange lettering. Walz emphasized his support for “common sense” gun laws while discussing his backing for the Second Amendment. As an Army veteran and enthusiastic hunter, Walz had previously received an “A” rating from the NRA, although this later changed to an “F” due to his support for gun restrictions, including an assault weapons ban.
Wisconsin state Rep. Jodi Emerson, representing parts of Eau Claire, said, “Tim brings the ability to engage with [rural] voters because they’re like, ‘yeah, that guy goes to my church.’ He’s a regular guy, and I think that will appeal to people around the country, but certainly in the Midwest.”
Walz’s down-to-earth demeanor, which the campaign hopes will resonate well in states like Michigan and Wisconsin, was evident at the rally, which also featured a performance by Bon Iver. The former teacher and football coach encouraged rally-goers to embrace values of “generosity” and “commitment to people,” while also respecting others’ decisions and minding “your own damn business,” reflecting Harris’ freedom-focused campaign message.
It remains uncertain how effectively Walz can position himself as a Midwestern moderate, considering his more progressive gubernatorial record, and the Trump campaign's efforts to label him a “radical leftist.” Even if successful, Republicans in Wisconsin doubt his impact on Harris' prospects.
Republican consultant Mark Graul stated, “I don’t think either JD Vance or Tim Walz is going to have a massive impact on who ultimately wins this election.” Charlie Sykes, a former conservative radio talk show host in Wisconsin now opposed to Trump, added, “If you’re a rural white voter going to the polls and [you’re] uncomfortable with Kamala Harris, [you’re] not going to vote for her because of Tim Walz.”
However, Sykes noted, “Trump is going to win the rural, white vote... if you can just hold it down by a few points, then that changes things.”
At the rally, Jan Porath, a 50-year-old from Eau Claire, expressed her view of Walz, saying, “I think my neighbors can see themselves in him. He’s a school teacher, a football coach, that’s relatable here,” and mentioned that the event was her first political rally.
Walz ended on a light note, saying, “Isn’t it good to have a candidate who can pronounce the name correctly?”
James del Carmen contributed to this report for TROIB News
The event drew significant attention, evidenced by the heavy traffic.
Harris and Walz addressed an estimated crowd of 12,000 people in Eau Claire, where attendees waited in a line stretching nearly two miles. They were eager to hear from a Democratic ticket that saw a fundraising surge following the Minnesota governor's addition. Many people abandoned their cars in Wisconsin farmlands and walked the final mile to catch the speeches.
On stage, Walz reminded the crowd of “Packers and Badgers fans” about his days coaching a high school football team to a state championship and boasted about being the “top gun at the trap shoot three years in a row” during his tenure in Congress.
He highlighted that being Midwestern means “car[ing] for your neighbors, kindness,” and spoke of his experience representing a “red district” in Congress, where he “learned how to compromise without compromising my values.”
The rally felt almost like a hometown event for Walz, whose Minnesota media markets extend into rural Wisconsin. It was the first significant test of Harris’ strategy to leverage her running mate's appeal to white, working-class voters crucial in the Midwest and Rust Belt.
Zac McCrary, a Democratic pollster specializing in rural voters, noted, “Selecting Walz is a signal that she and the campaign think she can be competitive enough in rural, small-town areas, and her path to 270 still does cut through the Rust Belt... She picked a white guy governor from the Midwest who can go into small towns in the Midwest and help her with those voters." McCrary added, “He’s more Friday Night Lights than White Lotus, so that’s an important signal.”
The Harris campaign believes it has multiple routes to secure 270 electoral votes, not just through Blue Wall states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, but also through Sun Belt states. Early polling indicates this might be feasible, with Harris gaining ground over Biden in the Sun Belt and maintaining her position in Wisconsin.
A Marquette University Law School poll, released Wednesday, showed Harris 1 percentage point ahead of former President Donald Trump in Wisconsin, within the margin of error. This is comparable to the university's June poll, conducted before Biden's difficult debate in Atlanta, where he was 2 points ahead of Trump.
In a recent memo, the Harris campaign revealed it has over 600 coordinated staff in Blue Wall states, with plans to add 150 more in early August. In Wisconsin, the campaign operates 48 offices in 43 counties, including 32 that Trump won in 2020 and 13 he won by more than 20 points.
Despite this, there remains a significant Republican presence in Wisconsin. Dan Kanninen, the campaign’s battleground states director, mentioned in the memo that to win, the campaign must close margins in rural areas of the state.
Former Rep. Ron Kind, a Democrat who represented a western Wisconsin district for over two decades before retiring in 2022, commented, “Democrats can’t get blown out in the rural areas... We can still win in these places, but you need the right candidate, the right messenger, and Tim was able to do that in southern Minnesota, too.”
Walz's initial congressional win in 2006 saw him securing a rural, red-leaning district with 53 percent of the vote. His presence at the rally aimed to appeal to a similar electorate. On Tuesday, the Harris campaign began selling camo-colored baseball caps with “Harris Walz” in orange lettering. Walz emphasized his support for “common sense” gun laws while discussing his backing for the Second Amendment. As an Army veteran and enthusiastic hunter, Walz had previously received an “A” rating from the NRA, although this later changed to an “F” due to his support for gun restrictions, including an assault weapons ban.
Wisconsin state Rep. Jodi Emerson, representing parts of Eau Claire, said, “Tim brings the ability to engage with [rural] voters because they’re like, ‘yeah, that guy goes to my church.’ He’s a regular guy, and I think that will appeal to people around the country, but certainly in the Midwest.”
Walz’s down-to-earth demeanor, which the campaign hopes will resonate well in states like Michigan and Wisconsin, was evident at the rally, which also featured a performance by Bon Iver. The former teacher and football coach encouraged rally-goers to embrace values of “generosity” and “commitment to people,” while also respecting others’ decisions and minding “your own damn business,” reflecting Harris’ freedom-focused campaign message.
It remains uncertain how effectively Walz can position himself as a Midwestern moderate, considering his more progressive gubernatorial record, and the Trump campaign's efforts to label him a “radical leftist.” Even if successful, Republicans in Wisconsin doubt his impact on Harris' prospects.
Republican consultant Mark Graul stated, “I don’t think either JD Vance or Tim Walz is going to have a massive impact on who ultimately wins this election.” Charlie Sykes, a former conservative radio talk show host in Wisconsin now opposed to Trump, added, “If you’re a rural white voter going to the polls and [you’re] uncomfortable with Kamala Harris, [you’re] not going to vote for her because of Tim Walz.”
However, Sykes noted, “Trump is going to win the rural, white vote... if you can just hold it down by a few points, then that changes things.”
At the rally, Jan Porath, a 50-year-old from Eau Claire, expressed her view of Walz, saying, “I think my neighbors can see themselves in him. He’s a school teacher, a football coach, that’s relatable here,” and mentioned that the event was her first political rally.
Walz ended on a light note, saying, “Isn’t it good to have a candidate who can pronounce the name correctly?”
James del Carmen contributed to this report for TROIB News
