VP nominee Tim Walz talks little policy, accepts no questions in Lancaster County ‘volunteer appreciation’ visit

• By Jaxon White/LNP | LancasterOnline

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spent about two hours in Lancaster County on Wednesday, interacting with Democratic Party volunteers and a few others in what is one of most Republican counties in this must-win battleground state.

Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, didn’t talk much about specific policy proposals the Democratic ticket is running on this year. He also didn’t answer questions from reporters.

Walz landed at Lancaster Airport around 11:30 a.m. in a white 737 jet with “Harris Walz” painted on its livery. He was greeted by local elected Democrats, including state Reps. Izzy Smith-Wade-El and Mike Sturla. Then he and his entourage of about 10 staffers headed to Cherry Hill Orchards in Pequea Township.

There, Walz bought two containers of whoopie pies — one chocolate and one pumpkin — while his daughter Hope picked out apple cider donuts.

“What am I looking for in a whoopie pie?” ” Walz asked store manager Ryan Shenk, while they walked the store’s aisles.

Shenk told LNP | LancasterOnline that he had just about 10 minutes to prepare the store for Walz’s visit, after a campaign staffer had come into the shop and asked if the Cherry Hill Orchards Outlet employees would be comfortable being on camera.

But Shenk, who has managed the store for about 13 years, said he’s grown accustomed to having politicians stop through, citing past visits from Congressman Lloyd Smucker and state Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding.

Shenk said Walz seemed “very down to earth.”

“He was a nice guy,” Shenk said. “If it wasn’t for the cameras, he seemed like just another customer.”

Walz and his police-escorted motorcade, featuring at least three black Chevy Suburbans, multiple sprinter vans and a small bus for reporters, returned to Lancaster, where the vice presidential hopeful addressed Democratic Party volunteers at the county committee’s office on North Duke Street. Walz opened his roughly 6-minute speech by addressing the school shooting that took place in Georgia Wednesday morning that left at least four students dead.

“This is tragic. We don’t know any of the details on it yet, but it’s a situation that’s all too common, and our hearts are out there right now,” he said, adding work needs to be done to “prevent these in the future.”

Battleground state

Walz mentioned he and Harris would fight for broad issues like reproductive care, health care, public education and infrastructure. Then he answered phone calls with local volunteers.

“This race is coming right through Pennsylvania,” Walz said to someone over a cell phone handed to him by Stella Sexton, the vice chair of the county Democratic committee.

Pennsylvania, with 19 of the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the presidency, is one of just a handful of toss-up states and is considered a must-win for both Harris and her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump. Pennsylvania’s last two presidential results were narrowly decided.

Walz didn’t answer any questions from reporters. Campaign staff asked one reporter, who shouted a question from the media area as Walz spoke to volunteers in the Democratic Party office, to stop interrupting the event.

By 1:45 p.m., Walz was back on the campaign jet waiting for him at Lancaster Airport to fly to another event in Pittsburgh later Wednesday. On Thursday, Walz is scheduled to appear in Erie.

Walz’s visit occurred just hours before former President Donald Trump was slated to participate in a “town hall” at the Pa. Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg.

Neither Trump nor his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, has visited Lancaster County this election cycle. Trump was last here for a rally at Lancaster Airport just a week before the election in 2020.

The Republican Party holds a 51% to 32% lead on registered voters over Democrats in Lancaster County, and Trump is expected to win a majority of votes come Election Day.

But Democrats have pledged to make inroads with Republican voters who might be disinterested in another Trump presidency. Last week, the Harris campaign opened an office in Ephrata – the second for the campaign in the county and a first-ever for the borough.

Harris and Trump are scheduled to participate in an ABC News debate on Sept. 10 in Philadelphia.

Welcoming Walz

Joining Sturla and Smith-Wade-El to greet Walz on the airport tarmac Wednesday morning were Lancaster Councilmember Janet Diaz, Mayor Danene Sorace, county Commissioner Alice Yoder and Maurice Cobb, the secretary-treasurer of Pensylvania’s AFL-CIO. The group traveled as part of the motorcade that followed Walz around the county.

Sorace described Walz’s stop as a “volunteer appreciation” event and said it was “really motivating” for volunteers to meet the candidate they have been advocating for among local voters.

“We understand that the history of Lancaster County has been strongly Republican and that Trump has historically won this county,” she said. “At the same time, we’re very motivated and supported by the Harris-Walz campaign to mobilize the voters who are Democrats, independents or Republicans who don’t want to see a second Trump term.”

Sturla, who last month announced he would no longer seek reelection this year, said it was a good sign Walz was taking the time to visit the county, pointing out that former President Barrack Obama stopped by Lancaster three times while unsuccessful Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton never did in 2016. Harris has yet to visit the county herself.

Citing Walz’s hopping on phone calls placed by volunteers at the party offices, Sturla said, “This is what grassroots politics is all about.”

Smith-Wade-El said Walz “just has a real energy, I think, that makes people feel like he sees them and he cares about them” and that he hopes the Harris campaign sends more surrogates to the area before November.

Conner Krachenfels, a regional field director for the Trump campaign, was also seen in Lancaster Airport’s lobby as local Democrats waited for Walz’s plane to arrive.

County GOP chair Kirk Radanovic did not respond to a request for comment.

County GOP chair Kirk Radanovic did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, Trump campaign spokesman Kush Desai criticized the Harris campaign’s choosing of Walz as a messenger to rural Pennsylvanians.

“Given Walz can’t even win over his own family members, there’s no chance he or Kamala are going to change the fact that Lancaster County is Trump Country,” Desai said, referencing a group of Walz’s family who have publicly endorsed Trump.