“He’s bringing the Midwest and also saying he doesn’t have some of the baggage that Shapiro has,” said Kevin Beyer, a Pennsylvania constituent at the rally. “I love Shapiro, but I think he brings a lot more to it. He is a veteran, he has done very well. He is not so controversial.”
Lorraine Bell, a 60-year-old teacher from Chester County, said Walz was her first choice and she likes that he’s “a regular friend.”
“I love Josh Shapiro,” Bell said. “But we needed him in PA, so he should still be here. But Tim Walz, he’s good.”
Earlier in the day, Vance campaigned in Philadelphia. Vance, who wants to change the “weird” line of attack that Waltz helped raise money for, said, “It’s normal people who suffer when Kamala Harris refuses to do her job, and it’s normal people who stand up the most when we re-elect Donald Trump.”
Vance also tried to paint Walz as a far-left radical, and as proof of his election, Harris would “bring the most radical elements of his party to their knees.”
“That’s exactly what he’s doing here,” he said. “He will continue to do so as president.”
After a speaker at a Harris rally on Tuesday, the speaker fired shots at Vance, often to loud applause.
“I’m working with JD Vance,” said Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. “And I’m here to confirm that he’s a very strange fellow.”
Walz said Vance’s Yale-educated, Silicon Valley background wouldn’t connect with Midwestern voters.
“I can’t wait to debate the guy,” Walz said before pointing out the vulgar false claim made about Vance online. “That is, if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up.”
Emma Barnett and Nnamdi Egwuonwu contributed.