Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, tested Mr. Walz’s name associated with the American Midwest on Wednesday 7 /8 with rallies in two battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan.
Mr. Walz met a boisterous crowd of thousands in the Wisconsin city of Eau Claire, about 80 miles from his home in Minnesota, across the state line.
It's been a pretty interesting 24 hours. I can’t even explain the feeling of walking into that arena in Philly yesterday, or that field out in Wisconsin earlier today, or our campaign’s largest rally tonight in Michigan.
I couldn't be prouder to be on this ticket and to help…
— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) August 8, 2024
The two Democratic candidates are using their first joint campaign activity to introduce Mr. Walz, a former teacher, football coach and veteran of the National Guard, to voters across the country after he bested more prominent Democrats to become the No. 2 candidate.
They are also making arguments to convince them that they are more worthy than Republican opponent Donald Trump and his running mate, US Senator JD Vance, at a time when there are less than 3 votes remaining. Another month until the election on November 5.
Polls show that Ms. Harris has erased the lead that Mr. Trump had enjoyed in the sad final weeks of Mr. Biden’s campaign, and Democrats with new energy have poured in a lot of money. into her election campaign with contributions.
Ms. Harris’s campaign said it raised $36 million in 24 hours after announcing Mr. Walz as its vice presidential candidate on August 6. According to Ms. Harris’s campaign, the rallies on August 7 attracted a total of more than 27,000 people.
It's been a pretty interesting 24 hours. I can’t even explain the feeling of walking into that arena in Philly yesterday, or that field out in Wisconsin earlier today, or our campaign’s largest rally tonight in Michigan.
I couldn't be prouder to be on this ticket and to help…
— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) August 8, 2024
It is the honor of a lifetime to join @kamalaharris in this campaign.
I’m all in.
Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what’s possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school.
So, let’s get this done, folks! Join us. https://t.co/tqOVsw2OLM
— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) August 6, 2024
The Democratic Party sees Wisconsin and Michigan as two almost must-win states in the 2024 election. These two states have been a big concern for the party since Hillary Clinton unexpectedly lost there, helping Mr. Trump win. won in 2016.
Mr. Biden defeated Mr. Trump in both states in 2020. But public opinion polls show that Mr. Biden faces a slim battle in Michigan before he drops out of the race, in which factor in that many in the state’s sizable Arab-American and Muslim communities are angry about the humanitarian crisis of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
There was a reminder of how divisive this issue is for Democrats when a group of chanting pro-Palestinian protesters briefly interrupted Ms. Harris’s speech in Detroit. They chanted “Hey Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide, we will not vote for genocide”.
She paused for a moment, then said that she believed in democracy and the importance of every opinion, then added: “But now I continue to speak.” When the chants still rang out, she repeated: “Hey, you know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then just say so. If not, I will continue to speak.”
Some pro-Palestinian activists see Ms. Harris as more of an ally than Mr. Biden because she has spoken more strongly publicly about Palestinian human rights, although the two Democrats have not shown differences any significance in terms of policy. Those left-leaning activists also expressed more support for Mr. Walz than some other candidates about him becoming Ms. Harris’s running mate, especially compared to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
According to Capitoneshirt