Tim Walz rallies over 2,300 supporters in Central PA following debate

Speaking to a couple thousand supporters in York less than 24 hours after Tuesday’s debate with JD Vance, Tim Walz called out Vance for denying the 2020 election results. 

Less than 24 hours after Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz returned to Pennsylvania to campaign throughout the midstate.

Wednesday’s trip was the second time Walz held a rally in the Keystone State and it was his fifth trip to the commonwealth since joining the Democratic ticket in August. 

“Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are going out to our neighbors, the folks across the Southeast United States,” Walz said during his opening remarks. “They’re still in the midst of a catastrophe from the damage of Hurricane Helene. Families lost homes and too many loved ones have lost their lives.”

Walz was originally supposed to campaign in Pennsylvania with Vice President Kamala Harris, but she canceled her visit to be with those impacted by Hurricane Helene. 

Walz was greeted in Harrisburg by US Sen. John Fetterman and his wife, Gisele Fetterman, Attorney General Michelle Henry, and labor leaders from the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO and the Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council. 

After landing in Harrisburg, Walz rolled into the UPMC Arena at the York Fairground on the Harris campaign’s tour bus to the surprise of over 2,300 supporters. 

During his speech, Walz called Vance out for the lies he told throughout Tuesday’s debate and for refusing to answer questions about Donald Trump losing the 2020 election. 

“The moment that really stuck out is that I just asked the simplest of all questions that every single American should be able to answer. I asked him if Donald Trump lost the 2020 election,” Walz said to a roaring crowd. “He refused to answer.” 

“It felt, especially in that moment, to me that Senator Vance was speaking to an audience of one,” Walz continued. “Now look, there is a reason Mike Pence was not on that stage. And let me just say this, I served with Mike Pence in Congress. We disagreed on most issues, but in Congress and as Vice President, I never criticized Mike Pence’s ethics and commitments to this country.” 

Another sticking point throughout the debate was Vance’s relentless attacks against immigrant communities. 

Following the rally, Walz traveled to Reading for a private event to meet with leaders from the Latino community.

Dozens of members from CASA in Action, an immigrant rights organization, attended the rally in York and stressed the importance of Walz’s visit to the region. 

“This is very, very important for CASA in Action members,” Daniel Alvalle, CASA in Action’s state director in Pennsylvania, said in an interview. 

“It’s not only about making sure Trump is not voted into office, but this is about ensuring respect and dignity for a lot of the immigrant and undocumented members that we have to ensure that they stay with their families, that they’re not separated from their families.”

Alvalle told The Keystone that the conversation and rhetoric around immigration needs to change. 

“I think it’s a conversation that the rhetoric around immigration needs to change and I think we need to understand and view immigrants who are coming from other countries as humans rather than as assets,” Alvalle said.

Alvalle doesn’t want immigrants to just be treated like numbers on a page, or as cheap labor to plug into the economy — even though they make massive contributions to it — but as community members who are crucial to Pennsylvania’s future.

“During the pandemic, immigrants were the ones who were the glue of this country and kept this country going.”