In western Wisconsin, Vance, Harris and Walz make their cases for election (2024)

Election 2024

August 7, 2024 4:00 AM

Updated: August 8, 2024 5:30 AM

Candidates from both presidential tickets descended on Eau Claire, Wis., on Wednesday in separate campaign stops as they worked to win over a battleground state crucial to winning in November.

Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, rallied a crowd estimated at around 10,000 in the afternoon, tapping themes of accountability and affordability as they sought to draw a contrast with the GOP candidates, former President Donald Trump and his running mate Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

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“While our economy is doing well by many measures, prices for everyday things like groceries are still too high. You know it and I know it. When I am president, it will be a Day One priority to fight to bring down prices,” Harris told the crowd as she sought to mute criticism the Biden administration hasn’t done enough to rein in inflation.

She said she would take on corporate price gouging and “corporate landlords that unfairly raise rents on families” and vowed to cap prescription drug costs.

Walz emphasized personal freedom, telling the crowd he wanted government to “mind your own damn business. I don't need you telling me about our health care. I don't need you telling us who we love. And I sure the hell don't need you telling us what books we're going to read.”

He also told the crowd that while people in Minnesota and Wisconsin believe in Second Amendment gun rights, “we also believe in common sense gun violence laws.”

The campaign event held at a large outdoor venue at times felt like a music festival with Bon Iver, the Grammy Award-winning band founded by Eau Claire native Justin Vernon, performing a set recast with Harris-themed lyrics.

Walz stopped his remarks at one point, seeing a person in the crowd appearing to struggle in the heat of the outdoor rally. He continued once the person was helped. Dozens experienced heat exhaustion after standing out in the sun. Some attendees were barred from bringing in water bottles, though the campaign handed out small bottles of water near venue entrances.

The rally just across the border from Minnesota was the closest stop Walz has had to Minnesota since being named as Harris' running mate. Several supporters said they made the trek across the border to show their support for the governor.

Kris Layman, a yoga teacher and massage therapist from Northfield, Minn., said she hasn’t been very politically active in the past but felt like the moment, and the Harris' campaigns message of joy, called for her to come rally.

“They kind of speak for decency, and I've always enjoyed Tim for especially when during COVID, like those early stages of not knowing anything, I found myself like following him, watching him on TV, versus the president at the time," she said.

Vance criticizes Harris on southern border, cost of living

Speaking at an Eau Claire manufacturing operation Wednesday and flanked by about a dozen people, Vance hit Harris on economic issues, saying gas, groceries and housing had become more expensive under her and President Joe Biden.

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”We were doing so much better when Donald J. Trump was president of the United States,” he said. “We had somebody who was fighting for American manufacturing, American workers and their jobs.”

He also criticized Harris for not doing enough to secure the southern border.

“I think we ought to say to Kamala Harris, you are fired,” Vance said.

Vance plans to trail Harris and Walz, a tactic known as “bracketing,” through key states. The battleground state tour also includes stops in Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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