Harris only candidate with ‘intelligence,’ ‘focus’ to be president, Walz says in KY stop
Vice presidential hopeful Tim Walz made a pit stop in Kentucky Wednesday to raise money for his and presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ campaign.
The event, which drew a crowd of around 200 people to downtown Louisville, raised more than $2 million, Walz said at the conclusion of his remarks Wednesday evening.
It’s campaign crunch time as the Nov. 5 election takes place in less than two weeks.
“I’m preaching to the choir, but our recital is 13 days away,” Walz joked to the crowd.
Kentucky is not used to significant attention from presidential campaigns of late. This year, it’s largely considered a lock for Republican former President Donald Trump, who claimed the state by 26 percentage points in 2020.
But money never hurts, and that’s the reason Walz fit in a visit to the River City at The Henry Clay event venue Wednesday.
Walz acknowledged that Kentucky is not a swing state in his remarks, but said that places like Kentucky, and the people there, would still be important to a potential Harris administration.
“She wants policies that we’re advocating for to improve the lives of people who are going to vote against us,” Walz said.
The vice presidential hopeful also jabbed at Trump a few times, saying that Harris was the only candidate with “the passion, the intelligence, the focus to be President of the United States.”
He also made a reference to comments recently made by former Trump chief of staff John Kelly, where Kelly said Trump meets the definition of a fascist and claimed that the former president commended the loyalty of Adolf Hitler’s generals.
When Walz, who is also the governor of Minnesota, landed he was greeted by a handful of the state’s Democratic elite. Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman; Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-KY; Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Colmon Elridge and former U.S. representative John Yarmuth all embraced Walz on the tarmac.
Before Walz was selected, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear was in the running with him to become Harris’ running mate, shortly after President Joe Biden stepped aside from his re-election bid.
Beshear has called Walz, who attended Beshear’s second inauguration ceremony last year, “a great friend and a great choice.”
Beshear was not in attendance due to a family fall break trip.
Walz was introduced by Jennifer Moore, a Louisville attorney who founded Emerge Kentucky, an organization dedicated to recruiting and training Democratic women candidates.
JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, held a high-dollar fundraiser in Lexington in late August. Ticket prices started at $2,500 per person with photo opportunities priced at $15,000. The Ohio senator ultimately raised $2 million.
This story was originally published October 23, 2024 at 5:17 PM.
