Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will be waltzing into Southern California on Tuesday, Aug. 13 to make his first solo appearance as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Convention at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Later that day he is set to speak at a fundraising reception in Newport Beach, the first of five scheduled fundraisers in the next three days for the public school teacher and veteran turned politician.
“The Harris campaign is benefiting as loyal Democrats turn anxiety into enthusiasm,” said Matthew Beckmann, assistant professor of political science professor at UC Irvine. “Realizing they are enjoying something of a honeymoon, Harris and Walz are eager to milk their moment for money, media and momentum.”
Walz’s SoCal swing strikes three birds with one stone as he rallies working class voters in L.A., refills campaign coffers in O.C. and energizes Democratic voters for competitive down ballot races in both counties.
The races for congressional districts CA-27 in the Antelope Valley, CA-45 in inland Orange County and CA-47 in coastal Orange County may play a critical role in determining which party controls the House of Representatives.
“Democrats as a group have become much more energized and the fact that Walz is here could really help turnout,” said Fred Smoller, associate professor of political science at Chapman University. “And it certainly would be helpful if he shines light on local Democratic campaigns.”
Matt Lesenyie, assistant professor of political science at CSU Long Beach, said it is no coincidence that Walz’s first solo appearance is at a labor union event. AFSCME is the nation’s largest public-employee unions, with more than 1.3 million members.
The Harris campaign is eager to shore up its support with working class voters, explained Lesenyie. This formerly deep blue contingent of voters has been steadily drifting red in recent election cycles. Teamsters president Sean O’Brien became the first head of the nation’s largest labor union to speak at the Republican National Convention in July.
Out of everyone politician on the presidential ticket and vice presidential ticket, Lesenyie said Walz holds the most “credibility” with the working class, noting that his biography is “not the Ivy League, silver spoon Democrats that we’ve seen for awhile.”
“There’s a lot of manufacturing in his state and so to first win in his (congressional) district and then to hold office now for two elections statewide, he clearly has appeal and cache with working class voters,” he said.
While Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, also comes from humble roots, his Yale Law School degree and stint as a venture capitalist will make it harder for him to paint himself as a fellow blue collar American, said Lesenyie.
“You can’t just put on a Carhartt jacket and cosplay in a warehouse,” said Lesenyie. “Working class voters will see straight through that.”
In a recent statement, AFSCME President Lee Saunders praised Walz for “empowering worker voices and defending those who have made public service a career” and said he looks forward to “mobilizing the full strength of our union” to ensure the Harris campaign wins in November.
He is expected to receive a warm welcome as he addresses a crowd of more than 10,000 AFSCME members at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Downtown L.A.
But Walz is expected to face a less enthusiastic reception when he cruises into Newport Beach later that day for his fundraising event.
On Monday morning Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill shared a sassy social media statement remarking, “As the Mayor of Newport Beach, a City with a 7-0 Republican City Council, I welcome Gov. Walz to spend time with our city leadership while he’s dipping into some of our residents’ pockets.”
He added, “We will showcase a city that didn’t defund the police, that embraces conservative economic values, that decreases debt and increases quality of life, that did not allow protestors to burn out local businesses, and that cares about human flourishing,” referencing to Walz’s handling of the protests and looting that engulfed Minnesota after a police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020.
Newport Beach, where former President Donald Trump held a fundraiser in June, is among the areas that have raised the most money for Trump this election cycle. Trump’s campaign committee has so far raked in close to $770,000 in the 92660 and 92663 ZIP codes while the Biden-Harris campaign committee has raised a little over $145,000 in those two ZIP codes this cycle, according to the Federal Election Commission reports.
Walz touching down in the affluent coastal city — part of the open 47th contest represented by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter — signals that Orange County isn’t being “written off” by Democrats, said Smoller at Chapman University.
“Newport Beach is usually considered Republican turf, right? So they’re really going to the belly of the opposition,” Smoller said.
Walz’s visit to Newport Beach could be pinned primarily to the presence of wealthy donors in the city, Smoller said, but perhaps a less-intended effect is that it energizes Democrats there, where Democratic state Sen. Dave Min faces former Assembly GOP leader Scott Baugh in a closely-watched race.
“Its council is majority Republican, Scott Baugh’s base of support is going to be coming from Newport Beach, it’s widely considered a Republican area,” he said. “But I think Walz coming gives Democrats, who’ve been in some ways, cowering, a chance to really express their enthusiasm.”
Attorney Wylie Aitken, a major fundraiser for Democrats in Orange County who is one of the event’s co-hosts, said he has been “blown away by the enthusiasm” for Walz’s appearance in Newport Beach.
“I’ve never had an event, frankly, where there is so much enthusiasm, to the extent where we’ve sold out and we’re telling people we can’t help them,” Aitken told City News Service. “I’ve never seen us turn away so much money. … It’s a measure of the enthusiasm for Kamala and her vice president.”
The nearby 45th congressional race, a Biden-won district in 2020 that’s represented by Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Seal Beach, is another closely watched race this fall.
There, Harris’ stance on abortion access could sway Republican women to vote for her, and Walz touching down in the county will motivate them further, Smoller said.
In 2023, Walz signed a Minnesota law that protects abortion rights. In 2022 when Proposition 1 — a constitutional amendment that enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution — was on the ballot, 55.1% of voters in the 45th backed the measure.
Abortion is also a hot-button issue in the race for CA-27 in Santa Clarita, Lancaster and Palmdale. In the 2020 election district voters reelected Republican Rep. Mike Garcia, but favored Biden over Trump by 12.5%. Democratic challenger George Whitesides is slamming Garcia for sponsoring pro-life legislation and urging the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Because voters in both CA-27 and CA-45 favored Biden in the last election, Democratic leaders are hoping that a strong Walz-Harris ticket could help flip these two seats blue.
“American elections have become far more nationalized over the last few decades,” said Beckmann, the UCI professor. “So while California’s presidential race has never been in doubt, more competitive down-ballot races will be heavily influenced by how the Harris and Trump campaign plays out.”
Originally Published: August 12, 2024 at 8:34 a.m.
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Publish date : 2024-08-12 11:42:00
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