Madeleine Vaver, a regional organizing director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, sits with Gwen Walz, the wife of Gov. Tim Walz, during a phone call with a local resident. Walz was in Wilkes-Barre on Friday afternoon to campaign on behalf of her husband and Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for President of the United States.
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Gwen Walz, the wife of Gov. Tim Walz, sits with supporters at the Luzerne County Democratic Party office on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre.
Gwen Walz, the wife of Gov. Tim Walz, holds up a bag of homemade cookies during her remarks in Wilkes-Barre on Friday afternoon.
Madeleine Vaver, a regional organizing director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, speaks during a campaigning event on Public Square on Wilkes-Barre. At right is Gwen Walz, the wife of Gov. Tim Walz, and, at left, is Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown.
Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown speaks at the Luzerne County Democratic Party office on Public Square in the city on Friday afternoon.
Gwen Walz, the wife of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was in Wilkes-Barre on Friday afternoon to campaign for her husband and his running mate Vice President Kamala Harris.
The stop came just days before the Nov. 5 election, which will pit Harris and Tim Walz against their Republican opponents — former president Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
“Many of you know that I’m a teacher, and this is the ultimate group project,” said Walz of the campaign’s final push. “And guess when it’s due? Four days — and no late work.”
In describing the stakes of the election, Walz introduced another teaching analogy to the mix.
“And here’s another thing: It’s pass-fail,” she said.
Gwen Walz brought a fair amount of Minnesotan folksiness to the audience gathered at the Luzerne County Democratic Party’s office on Public Square. She came with homemade cookies to share with everyone, and led the crowd in a chant of “Yah sure, you betcha!”
In recent weeks, Walz said she has picked up on a number of common themes from the people she has met on the campaign trail. She said that, in traveling to the swing states, she has made calls, knocked on doors and assembled campaign packets.
“Every single place I go, people are just fed up with Donald Trump,” Walz asserted. “But more than that, they are fired up for a new way forward.”
The First Lady of Minnesota framed Trump as a candidate who plants “chaos and division.” She blasted Trump’s policies, saying his agenda will give tax cuts to the richest Americans and trample on reproductive rights.
In regards to Harris’ proposals, Walz said the Democratic nominee’s goals include giving a tax cut to middle-class workers, lowering costs on groceries, healthcare and housing, and protecting reproductive freedoms.
“We have the power to choose a new way forward. We just have to vote for it,” Walz said.
Other speakers
Before Walz, Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown spoke to the audience. He recalled his short meeting with Harris on Sept. 13 when she visited the city, during which he said that Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and the United States will choose Harris to win the election.
In 2020, 18 of Wilkes-Barre’s 20 voting wards — or 90-percent of them — voted for President Joe Biden over Trump. Biden lost Luzerne County to Trump by over 14 percentage points in that election, but Biden prevailed in both the statewide and nationwide races.
Brown suggested that Walz make a return trip to Wilkes-Barre after the campaign ends with a Harris victory.
“As the mayor of the City of Wilkes-Barre, I’m so happy that you’re here,” Brown said to Walz. “And please, come back. After November 5 — don’t forget us.”
Madeleine Vaver, a regional organizing director for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, was referred to by Brown as “the future of the Democratic Party.” Vaver mostly focused on proper voting procedures in her remarks, but added a call to action that was specific to voters in the Keystone State.
“The stakes in this election could not be higher, and as Pennsylvania goes, so goes the nation.”