Tim Walz talks whoopie pies, Super Bowl rings, and little about policy in first solo trip to Pennsylvania

LANCASTER — In his first solo trip to Pennsylvania as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz talked whoopie pies, apple cider doughnuts — and how Democratic turnout in Pennsylvania’s majority-red counties could determine who will be the next president.

Walz and his 23-year-old daughter, Hope Walz, both sporting camouflage hats, started their day campaigning in Pennsylvania by visiting two stops in Lancaster County, a majority-Republican county that in 2020 voted for former President Donald Trump by 16 percentage points, or a difference of more than 44,000 votes. He later flew to Pittsburgh to visit a milkshake shop just outside the city, and visited a farm in Fayette County.

Democrats believe turnout in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s two major cities, and the now-reliably blue counties surrounding Philadelphia won’t be enough alone to win Harris the White House. They are also hoping to increase their margins in majority-Republican areas to win the key battleground state with the most electoral votes — and are looking to Walz’s folksy approach to appeal to voters there.

“It’s not hyperbole to say this election could very well hinge on this county here, this field office here, and the folks that we get out,” Walz said to a crowd of supporters in the basement of the county’s Democratic Party headquarters in Lancaster, a small city of approximately 58,000 people 80 miles west of Philadelphia.

“That is an awesome responsibility, but it’s also an awesome opportunity,” Walz added.

A majority of the more than 354,000 voters in Lancaster County are registered Republicans, while only 32% are registered Democrats, according to state voter registration data. The Harris-Walz campaign opened a second Lancaster County campaign office last week in Ephrata — becoming the first presidential campaign to set up an operation in the rural end of the county, campaign officials said.

Walz did not talk about specific policy issues during his Lancaster County visits, and he did not take questions. He told supporters he was feeling momentum for the campaign throughout his stops across the country since he was chosen as Harris’ running mate less than a month ago.

Prior to his visit to the city of Lancaster, Walz visited Cherry Hill Orchards & Farm Market in a more rural part of the county. He and his daughter purchased whoopie pies and apple cider doughnuts they later distributed to supporters. (Hope Walz also took some on the plane with them as they left town.) When a local reporter encouraged them to get pumpkin whoopie pies in addition to the traditional chocolate, Hope Walz said her family is a “big fan” of the fall flavor. “We’re pumpkin people,” she added.

And as Tim Walz picked up his apple cider doughnuts, he joked about a recent video of Trump’s running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R., Ohio), uncomfortably ordering doughnuts in Georgia.

“Look at me, I have no problem picking out doughnuts,” Walz quipped.

While speaking to the group of two dozen campaign volunteers at the county Democratic headquarters, Walz tried to note the similarities between Pennsylvania and Minnesota, “but Super Bowl rings is not one of them.”

”I know, you keep reminding me,” he said to laughs from the crowd. (The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC championship in 2018, before going on to win their first Super Bowl against the New England Patriots. The Vikings have made several Super Bowl appearances but have never won.)

After Walz spoke for about seven minutes, supporters at the headquarters continued phone-banking. He told them to hand him the phone if they got a voter on the line. He spoke to several voters during his visit, asking for their support.

The Harris-Walz campaign hopes that Walz’s Midwest good-guy manner and dressed-down appearance will help the ticket appeal to a broader voter base in red counties like Lancaster. The campaign has opened 50 field offices across the state, including 16 in counties like Lancaster that went by double digits for Trump in 2020.

The Trump campaign in Pennsylvania, however, said Harris’ “far-fetched push to win over rural Americans” is made worse by Walz.

“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,” said Kush Desai, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign in Pennsylvania, referencing several of Walz’s family members who came out in support of Trump this week.

Walz’s visit to Pennsylvania came the same day Trump was set to hold a town hall event on Fox News with Sean Hannity in Harrisburg.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was a top contender to be Harris’ running mate, did not join Walz and his daughter for their Lancaster County campaign stops on Wednesday. Shapiro was outside Pittsburgh for a ceremonial bill signing on Wednesday morning but did not join the Walzes in the afternoon. He has previously said that he and Tim Walz are personal friends and that Walz is “perfect for this job.”