Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Walz Is Featured at Kamala Harris Rally in Philadelphia

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made his debut as the Democratic vice presidential candidate Tuesday night at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, receiving a raucous reception with thousands of attendees wearing light-up bracelets as if they were at a Taylor Swift concert.

“Minnesota’s strength comes from our values ​​— our commitment to working together, to looking beyond our differences, to always being there to help,” said Walz, a former teacher. “These are the same values ​​I learned on the family farm and tried to instill in my students. I’ve taken them to Congress and to the state Capitol, and now Vice President Harris and I are running to take those same values ​​to the White House.”

” READ MORE: Kamala Harris Picks Tim Walz as Her Vice Presidential Running Mate, Skipping Josh Shapiro

Vice President Kamala Harris announced earlier Tuesday that she had selected Walz as her vice presidential running mate in the race against former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party nominee.

It was her first appearance in Pennsylvania, a key swing state, since she became the presumptive Democratic nominee following President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race. And it was her first rally since she secured the support of a majority of Democratic delegates on Monday.

The previously scheduled event — the first stop on a swing-state tour — took place on the turf of Harris’ other No. 2 primary challenger, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

At the rally, Shapiro introduced the candidates for the White House position and called Walz a “dear friend.”

” READ MORE: Gov. Josh Shapiro delivers rousing speech on home turf after being passed over for vice president

“Tim Walz is a great man,” Shapiro said. “Tim Walz is an outstanding governor. Tim Walz is a teacher. Tim Walz is a ranger. Tim Walz is a great patriot.”

Harris also warmly thanked Shapiro, but did not directly mention his efforts to become her vice presidential running mate.

“I am so, so committed to our friendship and our work together because Josh Shapiro and I are going to win Pennsylvania,” Harris said.

” READ MORE: Harris’ decision to bypass Josh Shapiro for vice president

Harris then praised Walz for his accomplishments as a teacher who coached a winning high school football team while leading the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance club, as a member of the National Guard, and as an elected official who fought to raise the minimum wage, protected unions and voted for the Affordable Care Act, better known as “Obamacare.”

“We agree on many issues, including that when our middle class is strong, America is strong,” Harris said, “and strengthening the middle class will be my overarching goal.”

Walz was warmly received by the crowd when he referenced his middle-class and rural roots. But he drew the biggest applause when he attacked Trump and Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance, repeating the signature denials that became familiar to Harris supporters during his vice presidential campaign.

He called Vance a “freak” with a Midwestern accent and said he looked forward to debating him.

“Make no mistake, violent crime has gone up under Donald Trump,” Walz said. “That doesn’t even include the crimes he committed.”

” READ MORE: Who is Tim Walz? Let’s look at the vice presidential candidate who defeated Shapiro

Other prominent Democrats from the region also spoke before Harris and Walz. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman initially drew boos when he told the Philadelphia audience that he was a Steelers fan and a “Sheetz guy” before changing the subject and saying that all Pennsylvanians must unite behind the Democratic nomination.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, who publicly endorsed Shapiro for vice president, encouraged Democrats not to air their muddy laundry in the vice presidential selection process, recalling her grandmother’s advice to never talk about “what goes on in this house.”

” READ MORE: Mayor Parker Endorses Josh Shapiro for Vice President, Now She Calls on Democrats to Endorse Walz

“Our Democratic candidate spoke, and that’s it,” Parker said. “Period. End of story.”

Harris’ campaign said 12,000 people filled the Liacouras Center and the overflow space, and several hundred more were turned away. The crowd gave Harris and Walz an enthusiastic start to their swing-state tour, at times drowning out speakers.

Bracelets handed out to the crowd flashed red, white and blue simultaneously, creating a sea of ​​changing colors.

Outside the arena, Brian Randolph, a T-shirt vendor, was showing off his “Make America Laugh Again” merchandise, which he brought from Pittsburgh and set up across the street from the arena at 8 a.m. Business was brisk, he said.

“When the rain doesn’t scare people away, you know they’re excited,” he said.

Randolph initially wasn’t very optimistic about this year’s election, so he planned to skip the rallies altogether. But after Harris became the presumptive nominee, Randolph and his partner felt they had to support the candidate who was making history, with items like towels with a gavel that referenced Harris’ experience as a prosecutor, handcuffs with the words “Prosecutor vs. Convict” written on them, and T-shirts with Harris’s face on them.

“I am a defender of democracy,” he said. “I would like to see this 250-year experiment continue.”

For Pennsylvanians hoping Harris’ vice presidential running mate would be the governor of their home state, Tuesday morning’s news was bittersweet.

But for Minnesotans like Gretchen Grosch, who traveled from her native St. Paul to North Philadelphia to support Harris at the rally, the news that her governor could soon assume the nation’s second-highest office came as a welcome surprise.

“Of course there are people who say he’s too liberal, but he really brought our state together,” Grosch said of Walz. “It was such a warm feeling.”

Many were turned away outside the arena. Mount Airy resident Louise Flaig, 46, was waiting in line outside shortly before the event started, unsure if she would get in.

“It’s worth it,” she said of the risk. “We might see our future president. How often does that happen?”

Jocelyn Marrow, a Democratic committeewoman who lives near the arena, couldn’t get a ticket. She stood on the doorstep in a pink Harris T-shirt and marveled at the crowd’s newfound enthusiasm.

Earlier this year, she attended a Biden rally at Girard College and said people were excited — but not that excited.

“This,” she said, “gives me energy.”

Staff writer Nathaniel Rosenberg contributed to this article.