With just over six weeks until the general election and 10 days before the vice presidential candidates’ debate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) are campaigning in neighboring counties in the eastern half of Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, led a rally in Bethlehem, while Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, will give a speech to supporters in Berks County this afternoon.
Walz told the crowd at Freedom High School that he doesn’t expect there will be 100 percent agreement on politics. “It’s pretty clear to us that Donald Trump and JD Vance do not share our values in any way,” he said. Walz slammed his opponent for spreading debunked stories about immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, even after Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said the stories were not true.
“What he did had consequences, and those consequences were that this same Republican governor had to send state law enforcement to escort kindergartners to school to learn,” Walz said. “We can think about that and take away from that the fact that they’re probably not telling the truth about a lot of things, if they’re not telling the truth about this.”
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Walz touched on themes from his speech, including Harris’ focus on reproductive freedom and her policy proposals to provide first-time homebuyers with $25,000 for a down payment and build 3 million homes over four years.
He also criticized former President Donald Trump’s comments during a Sept. 10 debate with Vice President Kamala Harris about his “concept of a plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act. “Their concept of a plan is to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, which protects us from insurance companies denying us coverage for chronic conditions,” Walz said.
He mentioned Alec Smith’s Insulin Affordability Act in Minnesota, which Walz signed the bill into law in 2020.The law is named after a youthful man who had to ration insulin after losing his health insurance on his parents’ plan at age 26. “Alec Smith died because he couldn’t get something that cost the drugmakers less than $5 and they were asking him to pay $600,” Walz said. “The Affordable Care Act protects us, and Kamala Harris is making sure that every person in every state has access to insulin and the medicine they need.”
Trump’s Pennsylvania campaign dismissed Walz’s comments Saturday. “Kamala Harris could not have found a better messenger for her pro-crime, pro-illegal immigrant agenda than Tim Walz,” Trump campaign spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. “Instead of trying to cheat Pennsylvanians into four more years of rising prices and disaster under Kamala, Walz should first focus on trying to win over his own family members.”
The statement cited press reports that some of Walz’s distant cousins planned to support Trump.
Fans express their opinion
Jean Vincent of Bethlehem attended Walz’s rally and said she views the economy, inflation, keeping the Affordable Care Act intact and the Harris-Walz campaign’s stance on guns as key issues.
“Having kids in high school and then college, we went through it all [active shooter] “Also, drills,” Vincent said, adding that she supports common-sense gun laws. “And just having someone in office who makes sense and who, you know, probably won’t go to jail. I don’t even know what else to say; to me, the choice is really obvious.”
Also at Walz’s rally, Joanna Dejesus Fenicle of Bethlehem said immigration is an essential issue to her, adding that she worries about the control Trump seems to have over the Republican Party. “Like telling Republicans to reject a bipartisan border agreement because it wouldn’t look good on him?” she said. “It’s like they’re not doing anything until he tells them it’s OK.”
State Rep. Josh Siegel (D-Lehigh) told the Capital-Star before Walz’s speech that housing costs are a concern for his constituents in the rapidly growing Lehigh Valley area, so he was “overjoyed” to hear about Harris’ campaign plan to build more housing. Siegel added that candidates who are doing well in the Lehigh Valley area are those who are campaigning in areas that may not always be Democratic, pointing to a recent rally in Luzerne County and a vast turnout Saturday in Bethlehem.
“I think the Harris-Walz campaign understands that they have to reach out everywhere in Pennsylvania,” Siegel said. “I think what I’m hearing more than anything, honestly, beyond the issues, is a general fatigue with just the constant state of crisis in our politics.” He said people seem “burned out” and want to “get back to a sense of normalcy and a government that’s just competent and trustworthy and accountable and serious.”
Campaigners spend time on the Pennsylvania battlefield
Both vice presidential candidates have made numerous visits to the Keystone State since joining their parties’ ticket.
Walz visited many counties and held gathering in purple Erie County in northwest September 5th. Vance’s last visit also took place in Erie County.August 28.
The communities where the vice presidential candidates will campaign on Saturday have vast Latino populations. Data from the 2020 U.S. Census can be seen Lehigh County has the highest percentage of Hispanic residents in the state at 25.9%, followed closely by Berks County at 23.2%.
Allentown, located near Bethlehem, is the largest city in Pennsylvania and is predominantly populated by Latinos. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff led a rally for the Harris-Walz ticket in Allentown September 7, focusing on winning over Latino voters, while Walz actors will reportedly join them Liza Colón-Zayas and Anthony Ramos at a rally on Saturday.
Leesport, located in Berks County, is near Reading, a city where the population is estimated to be 69 percent Latino. 2020 census data. Trump campaign opens campaign office in Reading with the goal of convincing Latino voters in June.
While both counties have vast Latino populations, they generally do not vote equally for candidates at the top of the ticket; they have done identically in previous presidential elections.
In 2020 53% in Lehigh Countywhere Allentown is located, voted for Democrat Joe Biden, while 53% voted for Trump in Berks County.
Lots of national polls released this week showed Harris and Trump locked in a tight race for the 19 electoral votes in Pennsylvania, the state with the most electoral votes up for grabs. Cook Political Report and many other national rating agencies have rated the presidential race in Pennsylvania as “uncertain.”
Harris was in Philadelphia on Tuesday for a panel interview for the National Association of Black Journalists.
Trump was originally scheduled to arrive in Bucks County on Sunday, but this visit was canceled. However, Vance to visit purple suburban county north of Philadelphia for the rally on September 28.
Asset will be in the western half of the Community on Monday for a panel discussion on agriculture in Westmoreland County and a rally in Indiana County.
In addition to Vance’s rally on Saturday afternoon, he is scheduled to attend interview with conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson tonight at the Giant Center in Hershey. Carlson will host Alex Jones, Conservative conspiracy theorist in Reading on Monday.
This story was updated at 1:50 p.m. on September 21, 2024, with details about Walz’s performance in Bethlehem.
