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topicnews · October 10, 2024

Tim Walz is campaigning with Arizona vets and tribes as early voting begins

Tim Walz is campaigning with Arizona vets and tribes as early voting begins

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz honored the legacy of the late Sen. John McCain during a campaign stop at a VFW post in Chandler on Wednesday.

McCain, R-Ariz., frequently clashed with former President Donald Trump. Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, and Vice President Kamala Harris are supported by McCain’s son Jim McCain, who greeted Walz at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Tuesday and spoke at the VFW.

The Harris-Walz team has worked hard to win the support of McCain-like Republicans in Arizona. Walz spoke at the John S. McCain III VFW Post 7401, named for the six-term senator who ran for president twice.

Walz noted in his VFW remarks that he served in the House of Representatives during McCain’s tenure in the Senate.

“What’s always struck me … when you’re a young member of the House, so to speak, senators have no idea who you are,” Walz said. “John McCain knew your first name.”

Live updates: Arizona Senate Debate Day: Lake lashes out at Gallego before debate

Walz said the Republican Party under McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, “would not stand” Trump’s treatment of veterans.

He also dismissed new reports that Trump gave COVID-19 tests to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the pandemic.

“Our strength lies in our commitment to our allies and the idea of ​​putting down or demonizing someone who served, someone who was a prisoner of war, someone who deserves our highest honors. “That’s not who we are,” Walz said. “I guarantee you the party of John McCain, Ronald Reagan and Dwight Eisenhower wouldn’t put up with it either.”

He also emphasized the importance of political differences in natural disasters. Hurricane Milton was expected to hit Florida’s west coast on Wednesday.

“Hurricane Milton will come ashore sometime this afternoon. These are our neighbors, these are our family members, these are our friends, and the commitment to stop politics and come together to be there is absolutely critical,” Walz said.

Jim McCain spoke first, discussing his recent decision to register as a Democrat and support Harris.

“This is a time for courage and standing up for what is right, even when it is difficult,” McCain said. “We need to elect Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walz.”

McCain said he sees in Harris and Walz the same qualities as his father, namely his spirit of putting “country over party.”

Senate candidate Ruben Gallego, a U.S. representative who was scheduled to debate Republican Kari Lake, a former news anchor, later Wednesday, shared his experiences as a veteran and as a lawmaker who worked with Walz in Congress.

“We did a great job together because this man has the heart of a servant,” said Gallego, D-Ariz., pointing to Walz.

Before the Chandler event, Walz stopped at Otro Café, a popular restaurant in north Phoenix. After the Chandler event, Walz attended an event with Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis and other tribal leaders before heading south to Tucson to attend a rally with actor and musician Jaime Camil.

Walz presented the Harris-Walz ticket to an enthusiastic crowd of tribal leaders and local Native activists. He promised that if elected, Harris would continue the Biden-era engagement with tribal nations, including supporting tribal self-government and engaging tribal partners rather than paternalism.

Gila River’s governor said the sizable indigenous populations in five battleground states could create the “tribal wall” that paves the way for Democrats to win.

At Palo Verde High Magnet School in Tucson, Walz began his speech by discussing the recent hurricanes that hit the Southeast and the executive orders he issued as governor of Minnesota to provide assistance to hurricane victims in North Carolina and Florida .

“This is what Americans do in a time of tragedy,” he said.

He criticized Trump’s character and his vision for the country.

“For all you care about, Donald Trump and JD Vance don’t have a plan,” he said.

Walz emphasized Harris’ vision for the United States and his desire to bring people together.

“She wants to be president of all Americans,” he said.

He discussed Harris’ proposal to expand Medicare coverage for home care, vision and hearing.

He then moved on to the topic of gun safety, saying children should be able to attend school without fear of being shot.

“I’m a veteran, I’m a hunter, I’m a gun owner. …Kamala Harris is a gun owner. We respect the Second Amendment, but our first responsibility is to protect the children,” he said.

Walz emphasized the importance of Social Security and worried that Trump would cut the safety net program.

He continued to criticize the Trump campaign’s constant blaming of migrants for America’s problems, including issues such as housing, jobs and crime.

“They want to blame everything on the migrants and not take any responsibility,” said Walz.

He reminded the crowd how Harris would have helped negotiate a bipartisan border bill that would have addressed the Trump campaign’s concerns about border policy. The bill died after Trump denounced the bill.

“She wants a solution, we have the solution, we have people working together, we kept our promise to do something about the border but also preserve our humanity,” Walz said.

He ended his hour-long speech by urging supporters to fight “like hell.”

Both sides are fighting hard for victory in Arizona. There is less than a month until Election Day on November 5, and voters will start casting their ballots even earlier. Mail-in ballots were sent out across Arizona on Wednesday.

Trump’s vice president JD Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, was in Tucson earlier in the day for his own rally before heading north to Mesa to attend a town hall with the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Harris is coming to Arizona on Thursday and Trump will hold a rally in Prescott Valley on Sunday.

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

Republican reporter Debra Utacia Krol contributed to this story.

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