EASTON, Pa. — The first lady of Minnesota made a stop in the city Monday to drum up support for the Harris-Walz campaign just three weeks from Election Day, focusing on a future “for everyone.”
Gwen Walz, wife of vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, came to the cozy College Hill home of retired teachers John Williamson and Susan Spaziani — along with their mixed-breed rescue dog Annie — to drum up support for the Democratic ticket.
As a crowd began to fill the home, with Secret Service checking conditions, people chatted politely, posed for pictures with campaign signs, and awaited Walz’s arrival with fervor.
“I know here in Pennsylvania, and I can see it, you are carrying the world on your shoulders, and that's a lot of weight, but I want you to know Kamala and Doug and Tim and I are right here with you, because we are all in this together, right?”Gwen Walz
Williamson said the appearance came about because his daughter-in-law serves as the chairperson for the Harris-Walz campaign in Pennsylvania, “and she called us three days ago and asked if we would host this event, and we agreed.”
Asked about his priorities for the campaign, Williamson said a primary point of motivation was preventing former President Donald Trump from getting back into office.
”So there's so many, but I think that not putting a convicted criminal in the White House is a huge motivator for many people," he said. "And another is moving forward with the agenda that the Biden administration began and developed over the last four years, not going backwards."
'The choice is crystal clear'
Spaziani noted the importance of Northampton County’s role in the upcoming election, and pushed for more feet on the ground for Democrats.
“Here in Northampton County, we're no stranger to politics," she said. "After all, we're one of Pennsylvania's bellwether counties. We decide elections. It's a lot of power and a lot of responsibility, especially this year.
“For us, the choice is crystal clear. The task at hand is making sure everyone around us knows how clear this is, too, and votes accordingly. We have just over three weeks to get this done. In that time, we need all hands on deck, knocking on doors, making phone calls and getting our neighbors to the polls.”
Gwen Walz's visit to the Lehigh Valley came on the same day Trump was scheduled to hold a town hall about 50 miles away in Montgomery County, Pa.
'A new way forward'
Once Walz entered the room to resounding applause, she thanked Williamson and Spaziani — both wore “I’m voting for Gus’ dad” T-shirts — before jumping into a talk about the work ahead leading to Election Day.
Walz discussed her time spent “knocking on doors and making phone calls in my home state of Minnesota” before the news came that her husband was selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, adding “one of my first thoughts was, ‘Oh my stars! I have to find someone to cover my call shifts!’”
She went on to speak about a future that benefited “everyone,” not just a select few.
“We don’t mean some of us, or we would have said ‘some of us,’” the former English teacher said after making a point that “words matter.”
“We don’t mean even only those who vote for us. We mean everyone. We mean all of us, because everyone means everyone.”
Walz described the Harris-Walz campaign as one “fighting for the working class,” with “real plans to give you a tax cut, lower the cost of health care, and help you buy a home.”
“Trump and (Republican vice presidential candidate JD) Vance aren't fighting for us. They're fighting for themselves… their rich owners and their extreme allies, and they're not fighting for us. And what they're offering with their Project 2025 agenda no one is asking for it,” Walz said.
Walz also touched upon her experience with in vitro fertilization treatments, illustrating how in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, Trump would “put fertility treatments at risk nationwide.”
In a nod to the attention paid to Northampton County and Pennsylvania this election season, Walz reassured she and her compatriots were on their side.
“I know here in Pennsylvania, and I can see it, you are carrying the world on your shoulders, and that's a lot of weight, but I want you to know Kamala and Doug and Tim and I are right here with you, because we are all in this together, right?” she said.
Calling attention to a 97-year-old woman working for the campaign in Wisconsin, Walz said she was so dogged and dedicated to the mission, despite being relegated to a wheelchair, she yearned for the days of canvassing in person.
Said Walz: “A new way forward is within our reach. It's within our reach, but we are going to have to fight for it, maybe harder than we've ever fought for anything before. But I think we can do it.
“We can do it because we do it together. I listen to Kamala Harris in these moments, and I take my marching orders from her. And I like to say, ‘I take my marching orders from the next President of the United States, Kamala Harris.’”
Walz also paid a visit to Chester County on Monday. Her stops were the beginning of a statewide tour that continues Tuesday.
The bellwether county
It comes at a pivotal time for Democrats, with some polls showing Harris edging out Trump in Pennsylvania by less than a point, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Political pundits and media have proclaimed Northampton County to be one of the most important counties in an integral state.
The attention comes for good reason: As CBS News noted, the county’s pick for president has matched the state's selection dating back to 1948, and Pennsylvania has selected the candidate ultimately elected president in all but three elections since 1920.
In 2020, Biden and Harris narrowly took Northampton County with 85,087 votes to the Trump-Pence ticket’s 83,854 — with the bulk of the Democratic ballots submitted by mail.
Walz is Minnesota’s 39th first lady and prides herself as a lifelong Minnesotan. After meeting her future husband in Nebraska while teaching, she spent more than two decades as an administrator and coordinator in the Mankato Area public schools.
Walz has advocated for education initiatives including prison education to reduce recidivism rates, in addition to pushing for criminal justice reform and LGBTQ rights.
In a Women’s Health article released Monday, Walz detailed her experience undergoing intrauterine insemination, which she and her husband used in order to have their two children, Hope and Gus.
Touching upon Alabama’s decision that embryos have personhood, which has effectively curtailed IVF treatments in the state, Walz warned of what Trump would do with women’s rights regarding reproduction, saying “I’m not willing to put my daughter’s reproductive health in his hands. If he’s elected, I think there will be a nationwide abortion ban.”
Among those in attendance at the home Monday were Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. and Councilman Frank Pintabone.
Panto said he felt some confidence about Harris and Walz winning locally, but still exhibited some fear for what could happen if the margins were too thin.
“And I think no matter what, Kamala Harris is going to pull through Pennsylvania and Northampton County, I think she's going to win both, but by such a small margin, he's going to fight it, and then I'm afraid of the violence, and I don't want any violence in Easton, and I don't want any violence in the Capitol,” Panto said.
Walz urged the crowd to keep on going as she wrapped up her speech at the home in Easton.
“It is crunch time, but you know what Tim says? ‘We’ll sleep when we’re dead.’" she said. "Yeah, now I’m more moderate — I think we can take a nap after the election, but probably not until then.”
