Gwen Walz, Minnesota’s First Lady, visits Wayne

WAYNE — With just 22 days until the general election, Gwen Walz, Minnesota’s first lady and wife of Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, rallied the troops Monday.

About 150 volunteers roared and applauded in approval as Walz criticized Republican candidate Donald Trump and urged the group to continue working hard to support Kamala Harris’ campaign.

Walz visited the Wayne campaign office to kick off the New Way Forward tour campaign through Pennsylvania and even brought family-baked cookies for campaign workers.

Trump was scheduled to speak later that evening a few miles away in Oaks.

“People are tired of Donald Trump,” Walz told the attentive audience. “We’ll send him a message.

“Mind your own business.”

Walz spoke about reproductive rights.

“He may even seek to rewrite the history of his attacks on our reproductive freedom,” she said. “Well, I’m a long-time teacher.

“And in my classroom we believe in facts. Here are some of them: Donald Trump overturned Roe – that’s a fact.

“If he wins, he will ban abortion nationwide, including in Pennsylvania – that’s a fact. He won’t stop there: He will seek birth control, emergency care and even IVF – that’s a fact.”

The country is divided.

“For nine long years, Trump has tried to divide us – pitting neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend,” Walz said. “In fact, I hear that Trump is here in the collar counties today too, peddling his old grievances and grievances.”

Walz told volunteers that winning Pennsylvania was important, perhaps even vital, to the election campaign.

“You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders,” she said. “We are in this together.

“This is how we win – together.”

About three weeks before Election Day on Nov. 5, Walz urged workers to fight hard, make calls and knock on doors.

“We will sleep when we are dead,” she said. “We can take a nap after the election.”

“We will have to fight for it. When we fight, we win.” Volunteer and retired teacher, Ms. Feman from Paoli, was working on her first campaign and said the atmosphere was electric.

“I am surrounded by so many dedicated people, young and old, who come from near and far and do whatever it takes.”

Feman said she supports a “united United States.”

David Pollack of Swarthmore is excited to help “get us over the finish line.”

Barbara Cable loved Walz’s message.

“She is very motivated, energetic and positive,” she said of Walz. “There is a lot to do, we cannot stop and take a break until we have victory in our hands.

“I won’t be satisfied until Kamala is initiated.”

Walz was joined at the stop by Pennsylvania First Lady Lori Shapiro and U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon.

Originally published: October 15, 2024 at 11:06 am