'All gas, no brake': Takeaways from Tim Walz's rally in Superior, Wisconsin
Looking for a momentum bounce from Vice President Kamala Harris's Tuesday debate performance, her vice-presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, rallied supporters in far northern Wisconsin on Saturday.
"Kamala Harris did her job Tuesday night. We need to do our job for the next 52 days," Walz told the crowd at the University of Wisconsin-Superior’s Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.
Tuesday night's debate was the first and only scheduled between Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump as each seeks to win the White House on Nov. 5. And while the two may not appear again on the debate stage, their vice-presidential running mates will square off in a debate on Oct. 1.
Saturday's rally was part of the Harris-Walz campaign's "New Way Forward" tour of battleground states. Walz's event in Superior followed campaign stops he made in recent days in Wausau and in Michigan. Harris will return to Wisconsin on Friday as part of a swing through "blue wall" battleground states.
Last week, Trump rallied supporters in Mosinee outside Wausau and his vice-presidential running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, will be campaigning in Eau Claire on Tuesday.
Both campaigns have been making frequent stops in Wisconsin as they work to court voters in the critical swing state.
The Marquette University Law School poll conducted before the debate and released this week found Harris had a four-point lead over Trump among registered voters in Wisconsin, within the poll's margin of error. The poll also revealed changes that may help Harris in the state.
"All gas, no brake," Walz said as he urged the crowd to make the case for the campaign and turn out the vote. "Let’s give it our all. And think about it: That 53rd morning, when you wake up, we get to say: 'Congratulations Madam President.'"
Here's what to know about Walz's visit:
Superior-Duluth a stronghold Democrats hope to regain
Walz's trip to the state's northwestern corner is not the first of the Democratic presidential campaign this cycle.
In January, President Joe Biden — then the party's presumptive nominee seeking a second term in the White House — visited Superior in a bid to regain the key Democratic stronghold that sits across Lake Superior's St. Louis Bay from Duluth, Minn. The two blue cities known as the Twin Ports are surrounded by communities that have increasingly leaned toward Trump as heavy industry and mining jobs disappeared.
At that January visit, Biden announced new funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to replace the 60-year-old Blatnik Bridge connecting the two cities. He said the project was expected to create 10,000 jobs, a critical message in the region, an expert previously told the Journal Sentinel.
"Donald Trump talked a tough game on infrastructure, Kamala Harris got it done," Walz said Saturday referencing the bridge.
The Marquette Law School poll showed Trump leading Harris on the economy, the No. 1 issue, though she has gained ground compared to when Biden was in the race.
On Saturday, Walz framed Trump as someone born into wealth with no concept of the challenges faced by the working class while he said Harris grew up in the middle class.
Walz references listening to 'smart women,' needling Trump as 'smallest man in the world'
Walz opened by offering a "life hack" for men: "Surround yourself with smart women and listen to them and you’ll do just fine."
Women will be an important voting bloc in the election, and the Harris-Walz campaign has leaned into abortion rights as a key campaign issue. Trump comes to the race with a polarizing history with women and reproductive rights.
Walz also name-dropped Taylor Swift, who endorsed Harris after Tuesday's debate, signing her Instagram post as a "Childness Cat Lady" in reference to past derisive comments by Vance.
"It’s really great to have all of these women help us beat the smallest man in the world, Donald Trump," Walz said.
Walz urges 'old-school Republicans' to consider Democrats' agenda
Walz said Republicans "used to talk about freedom" but that a second Trump term would produce the opposite.
He framed Trump's agenda as being the same as Project 2025, a conservative blueprint created by the Heritage Foundation from which Trump has tried to distance himself even as Democrats have continued to point out his connections to the plan.
In particular, Walz hit on abortion and reproductive freedom, difficult issues for Republicans since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago.
Trump appointed conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who helped write the ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and has since sent mixed messages over whether he supports the effects of the ruling —both taking credit for the ruling but also distancing himself from states' decisions to enact strict rules.
"I would go out to all of your neighbors and make the case on this. Do you want JD Vance deciding about your wife and daughter's health?" Walz asked to yells of "no" from the crowd. "Or would you rather just leave it to them and their doctor? That's what freedom looks like."
Walz highlights importance of Wisconsin in November election
The November election will be a "margin-of-error race," Walz predicted, saying Wisconsin would be one of a handful of states necessary to win.
"This thing's going to be a battle for the next 52 days," he said. "It's gonna be won in rooms just like this. It's gonna be won door-to-door, call-to-call, $5 donation, trying to have that hard conversation in the produce aisle with the person you saw there at the grocery store."
The last two presidential elections in have been close in Wisconsin. In 2020, Biden won by about 21,000 votes after the state elected Trump by a similar margin just four years earlier.
He said Democrats would win when they turned out the vote. He also slammed Republicans for spending "the last decade figuring out how to make it harder for people to vote" and Trump for still not admitting he lost the election four years ago.
"That choice of voter suppression versus voter engagement, we choose the joyful path," Walz said. "We choose to take our chances with explaining what we stand for, standing on our record, letting everybody vote, counting every vote fairly, and then accepting the results of that."
What did former President Donald Trump's campaign say about Walz's visit?
The Trump campaign in a statement called Walz a "radical leftist governor" who is "now attempting to bring his failed policies to Wisconsin."
“It's clear that the Harris-Walz vision for America is one of chaos and destruction," said Trump campaign Wisconsin Press Secretary Jacob Fischer. "In stark contrast, President Donald J. Trump will fight to restore safety, security, and prosperity to every corner of the nation. While Kamala Harris and Tim Walz cater to the Radical Left, President Trump remains committed to putting Wisconsinites first and protecting American values."
Molly Beck and Lawrence Andrea of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this story.
Alison Dirr can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'All gas, no brake': Takeaways from Tim Walz's rally in Superior