Tim Walz visits Pa. after the vice presidential debate

WEST MANCHESTER TWP., Pa. — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz assessed his performance in the vice presidential debate.

“Not bad for a football coach,” Walz told more than 2,000 supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign at an exhibit hall Wednesday as part of several bus stops around Pennsylvania.

Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, described his sometimes shaky performance during Tuesday’s debate as “civilized but spirited” against Republican U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, former President Donald Trump’s running mate.

The “Midwest Nice” debate between Vance and Walz was closely watched about a month until Election Day.

“I talked to the Americans yesterday,” Walz said. “I particularly felt at that moment that Senator Vance was speaking to an audience of one,” claiming that Vance was only seeking Trump’s approval.

The Harris-Walz campaign continued its efforts to narrow margins in GOP-controlled parts of Pennsylvania, making the case in York County, which voted for Trump in 2020 by a margin of 25 percentage points, or nearly 59,000 votes. Walz also visited an orchard in York County and was scheduled to take a campaign bus to Reading on Wednesday to visit a Puerto Rican restaurant.

Walz’s roughly 35-minute remarks were aimed at rural voters and focused on the costs of health care, agriculture and energy – in addition to other top Harris campaign priorities such as protecting abortion access and more affordable housing.

Walz was joined by U.S. Senator John Fetterman (R-PA), who grew up in York County and recalled some of his fond memories here. He compared Vance to his former opponent, renowned physician Mehmet Oz, claiming that both men abandoned successful careers before deciding to “sell their souls to focus solely on MAGA.”

Kush Desai, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign in Pennsylvania, said Walz’s visit to the state constituted “post-debate cleanup” that “will not help Pennsylvanians through another four years of rising prices, open borders and disaster on the world stage.”

What are these Democrats from Pa. Democrats were thinking about Walz’s debate performance

For Doug Bower, a Lansdale retiree who worked as an electrical engineer and now volunteers for Harris’ campaign, Walz’s performance was exactly what he expected: a little hesitant and imperfect.

“[It] he proved to me that he is a normal person,” Bower said. “Yes, he stopped a few times to think about what he said, which is normal.”

Amy Klinedinst, 50, of Springettsbury Township, York County, arrived with her daughter at the York Fairgrounds at 7 a.m. to hear Walz speak. But that didn’t stop her from staying up late and watching “every minute” of the debate. Vance stated that she had more experience in debating.

But she said she received more detailed policy briefings from Walz, noting that Democrats’ plans to support abortion access are top of mind for her.

“I think he did great,” Klinedinst added. “It was a huge contrast between the two candidates on stage last night. And I really hope that the people who are still undecided after last night will decide in favor of Harris-Walz.”

And her 14-year-old daughter had hopes for the future.

“I hope that in the next election I will be able to vote for Kamala for the first time in my life,” said Ava Klinedinst, who will be eligible to vote in the 2028 presidential election.