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Harris and Walz to hit swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan
The Democratic running mates will make stops in Wisconsin and Michigan Wednesday with their visits being shadowed by Republican VP candidate JD Vance.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will spend their first full day as running mates on Wednesday rallying Democrats across the Midwest, a politically divided region that is crucial to their effort to win the White House when voters head to the polls in less than three months.
The trip – which begins in Eau Claire, Wis. before shifting to Michigan – is aimed at shoring up support among the younger, diverse, labor-friendly voters who were instrumental in helping President Joe Biden win the 2020 election. That traditionally Democratic coalition showed signs of fraying over the summer, particularly in Michigan, which has emerged as a focal point of divisions over Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
With Biden now out of the race and Harris officially the Democratic nominee, leaders of the Arab American community and key unions say they are encouraged by the choice. Walz’s addition to the ticket has soothed some tensions, signaling to some community leaders that Harris heard concerns about another leading contender for the vice presidential slot, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who they felt had gone too far in his support for Israel.
“The party is recognizing that there’s a coalition they have to rebuild,” said Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan. “Picking Walz is another sign of good faith.”
Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat seeking a third term, appeared with Harris at a campaign stop there last month in suburban Milwaukee, and said in a fundraising email Tuesday morning that she was “thrilled to see a fellow Midwesterner at the top of the ticket.”
Donald Trump had put a similar emphasis on appealing to voters in Midwestern states with his choice of Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his vice presidential pick. Vance will again bracket the Harris-Walz ticket with appearances in both Wisconsin and Michigan Wednesday. He is starting his day in Michigan before heading to Eau Claire, Wis., the same city where the Democratic candidates will appear hours later before going to Michigan.
In Michigan, leaders say Democratic enthusiasm has surged since Harris announced her candidacy.
That could be pivotal in Detroit, which is nearly 80% Black, where leaders for months had warned administration officials that voter apathy could cost them in a city that’s typically a stronghold for their party. Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the NAACP Detroit branch, said the excitement in the city now is “mind-blowing.” He likened it to Barack Obama’s first run for president in 2008, when voters waited in long lines to help elect the nation’s first Black president.
But some Democratic leaders in Michigan had grown concerned that choosing the wrong running mate could slow that momentum and fracture a coalition that has only recently started to unify. Arab American leaders, who hold an outsized influence in Michigan due to a large presence in metro Detroit, had been vocal in their opposition to Shapiro due to his past comments regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Arab American leaders specifically pointed to a comment he made earlier this year regarding protests on university campuses, which they felt unfairly compared the actions of student protesters to those of white supremacists. Shapiro, who is Jewish, has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while remaining a staunch supporter of Israel.
“It’s certainly not antisemitic to critique somebody’s position on Israeli policy,” Hammoud said. “That’s just called stewardship and accountability.”
In addition to expressing those concerns publicly, leaders had also made their feelings known privately to the White House and Harris’ team.
Osama Siblani, the publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab American News and a prominent leader in Michigan’s large Muslim community, was among those who met with White House adviser Tom Perez in Michigan last week. Although Perez was in the state on official business, he has maintained contact with some Dearborn leaders since he and other top officials traveled there with Biden in an effort to mend ties with the community.
Siblani said he met with Perez for over an hour on July 29 and told him that if Harris chose Shapiro, it would “shut down” future conversations. He also conveyed this message to Democratic lawmakers in Congress, including Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell.
Pushback from Arab Americans and union leaders was “not the only reason why she did not pick Shapiro, but it is one of the major reasons,” said Siblani.
“Not picking Shapiro is a very good step. It cracks the door open a little more for us,” said Siblani, who along with Hammoud emphasized that any meaningful conversations must include policy discussions.
Michigan state Sen. Jeremy Moss, who is Jewish, was excited by the prospect of having Shapiro as a vice presidential candidate and subsequently “disturbed” by the criticism he received, believing that many of the vetted candidates had similar views on Israel. He said he didn’t believe the criticism played a role in Harris’ decision and that “she’s choosing somebody based on this long game of who she can work with for four to eight years.”
Still, Moss said he is glad the Harris-Walz ticket is not divisive and that the feeling of unity among Democrats is “palpable on the ground.”
The nation’s largest auto workers’ union, the United Auto Workers, also watched the vice presidential choice carefully.
They moved to endorse Harris quickly after she stepped in to replace Biden, and UAW President Shawn Fain said publicly that she had a right to choose her own running mate. But he also said the union, which has 370,000 members and a huge presence in Michigan and other Midwestern states, didn’t favor Shapiro, who had previously joined with Pennsylvania Republicans in calling for an expansion of voucher programs that allow public tax dollars to flow to private schools.
Fain had singled out Walz — in addition to other candidates — for praise in an interview with The Associated Press on Aug. 2, saying the Minnesota governor was a “brilliant guy, sharp guy.” In a statement Tuesday, Fain said Walz will make a “great vice president” and that he has “stood with the working class every step of the way.”
Dingell, a Democrat with deep connections in Dearborn who has brokered some of the conversations between Biden administration officials and leaders of core constituencies in Michigan, echoed those sentiments Tuesday. She said the choice of Walz would only ramp up excitement at Wednesday’s rally in Detroit.
“We got somebody from the Midwest, from the heartland, that really understands our issues,” said Dingell. “And he will be a partner to her. She won’t have to look over her shoulder every two minutes. He will be a total, true partner.”
Gary Peterson and his friends are collecting donations to help people in their community.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A St. Louis Park pumpkin display is raising money for their local food shelf.
Gary Peterson started carving and painting three pumpkins over a decade ago. It’s now grown to over 100.
“I’ve heard people say they’ve come from Hutchinson,” he said.
Peterson along with two of his neighbors have spent the last 14 years growing their display, turning it into a neighborhood event.
“It’s been incredible, I just can’t believe how much this has expanded,” he said. “We did it just because we like to and then people were asking to give us money to cover the cost.”
The trio refused to take people’s money, but then one of them had an idea.
“My neighbor, Steve Leensvaart, just mentioned how about we just do it for the STEP program and the STEP program is our local food shelf in St. Louis Park,” he said.
So, they started to collect donations to help families in need. They’ve raised hundreds of dollars and donated hundreds of pounds of food over the last few years, carving for a cause.
“It is more gratifying every year,” Peterson said.
He estimated they have over 100 unique pumpkins in their yard. They’ve created the displays and come up with new family-friendly concepts for people to enjoy. Peterson said about 30 of their neighbors carved their own pumpkins to be put on display, and it’s been a big hit.
“It’s great. In the last couple of years, it’s turned into more of a neighborhood event,” said Sarah Durch.
“We love this Halloween display, we come every year to see it. We love that the whole community gets involved to craft and carve the pumpkins,” said Jami Gordon-Smith.
“The shading and the details are unbelievable,” said Elizabeth Hanson.
Hanson hopes to take her 2-year-old son trick or treating for the first time but is worried the cold temperatures might keep them indoors.
“We’re going trick or treating hopefully,” she said. “He’s going to be a firefighter, but we’re probably going to have sweatshirts maybe like two pairs of sweatpants underneath. We’re going to be bundled up.”
Gordon-Smith said her family will be out Halloween night no matter the weather.
“Halloween only comes once a year, so you really have to take advantage and enjoy the evening no matter what the weather brings,” she said. “Guess it’s not totally unheard of in Minnesota to have a cold Halloween, but we are going to try and modify and do a lot of layers underneath our costumes and then we might add some hats and maybe some warmer socks.”
Durch also isn’t surprised they’re in for another chilly night.
“Well, what would Halloween be without Minnesota cold? I feel like every time you plan a costume you have to plan for how you can make this work if it’s snowing,” she said.
Peterson said they will have a bonfire and some hot chocolate and cider on Halloween to keep trick-or-treaters warm while they look at their pumpkins.
Click here to learn where you can see the pumpkins and how you can donate.
Jeremy Jourdain was 17 when he was last seen on Halloween 2016.
BEMIDJI, Minn. — The search for Jeremy Jourdain, who was last seen on Halloween in 2016, continues now eight years later.
Jourdain was last seen at a family member’s house in Bemidji, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. He left the residence near the 500 block of Wood Avenue after midnight and while people followed him, no one was able to find him.
Jourdain was 17 at the time.
Officials said he was wearing a blue and grey sweatshirt, and blue jeans when last seen. He is Native American and is described as 6 foot 5 and 175 pounds.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, you can contact the Bemidji Police Department at (218) 333-9111. Tips can also be sent to 1-833-560-2065, or you can email ojs_mmu@bia.gov.
The organizations say many Asian Americans are planning to vote despite lack of candidate outreach.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Most people have been contacted in some way shape or form by a campaign in the last few weeks. And if the polls are right and the race for president is a dead heat, every vote will matter.
That’s why this is a head scratcher:
According to a September 2024 voter survey by Asian American Pacific Islander Data, 27% of Asian-American voters said they hadn’t been contacted by either political party trying to get their vote. Last spring, earlier in the voting season, it was even more – 42%.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing racial or ethnic group nationwide.
Their voter participation levels are growing too, with 60% of eligible Asian-American voters turning out in 2020. And AAPI Data reports as many as 90% of Asian Americans they surveyed said they plan to vote this cycle.
“Candidates are not reaching out to Asian Americans, which is a huge mistake,” said ThaoMee Xiong, executive and networking director of the Coalition of Asian American Leaders.
She says even though there are more than 200,000 eligible Asian voters in Minnesota, the Asian vote is under-appreciated.
“Neither the Democratic or Republican parties have been reaching out in huge numbers,” Xiong said. “They’re sending general mailers to everyone but … they need it in their native language.”
That’s why CAAL is partnering with two more organizations to keep voter turnout high and reach anyone candidates or advocates missed.
Xor Xiong is from Asian American Organizing Project, which focuses on engaging metro-area teens and young adults.
“Many of our communities are still facing barriers to go to vote,” he said. “There’s been more times than I like to admit in terms of when I was having a conversation over the phones of voters being surprised that they can take time off to go and vote, or they can bring the kids to the polling locations, or they can even bring someone to translate for them.”
“In Ramsey County, because of the large Hmong American population there, the polls in Ramsey County are federally required to provide interpreters and translated materials,” ThaoMee added.
Their nonpartisan campaign, Get Out the Vote for Asian Minnesotans, aims to get people registered and well-informed.
“Throughout Covid, there was a lot of anti-hate around the AAPI community and we are still feeling the impact of that to this day,” said Amanda Xiong, a community organizer with a group known as CAPI USA. “Even if folks are afraid to go to the polls, due to that, we try our best to then educate them around absentee ballots, voting early.”
“And so yes, there is a huge increase in terms of voter turnout, but then why is it still 70% feel as though they don’t belong?”
In 2021, the FBI reported a 168% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes.
In Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center, the groups knocked on at least 700 doors in one session alone while keeping safety top of mind.
“We make sure that there’s a car following all the door knockers,” ThaoMee said. “We put everyone on text chain … and we are putting a lot of precautionary measures in place for the day of voting.”
After the election, the CAAL plans to conduct surveys and send the results to county election officials. They’ve done this before and say it led to policy changes this year at the legislature including measures to ensure people have easier access to interpreters.
