The battleground state of Wisconsin was the site of dueling rallies in the race for the White House on Wednesday.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, campaigned in Eau Claire, a city of about 70,000 people, 90 miles east of Minneapolis.
The outdoor rally, which also featured Wisconsin band Bon Iver, was packed with thousands of Harris and Walz supporters.
Walz and Harris hit on what’s starting to become a familiar theme of the campaign: freedom.
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However, at one point, Walz stopped his speech when a person in the crowd appeared to be in distress.
“You OK?” Walz asked the person. “Drink some water, folks. It is hot out.”
People in the crowd tended to the person, who appeared to be fine, and Walz continued his speech.
It was then Harris’ turn to take the mic — hitting on topics like bringing down the cost of prescription drugs and advocating for reproductive rights.
“We trust women, and when I am president of the United States and when Congress passes a bill to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade, I will sign it into law,” Harris said to a raucous crowd.
JD Vance, former President Donald Trump’s running mate, arrived in Eau Claire around the same time as Harris and Walz. At the airport, he walked over to the press covering Harris’ campaign and criticized the vice president for not taking more questions from journalists.
“It’s disgraceful that she runs from you guys. It’s also insulting to the American people,” Vance told reporters.
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Vance went on to speak to a small group of people at Wollard International, a manufacturer of ground equipment for airports — trying to show a contrast between the Trump-Vance ticket and the Harris-Walz ticket.
Alex Brandon/AP
The senator from Ohio talked about protecting the health care system in rural America, tying it to immigration.
“When illegal aliens come in, they have to be housed in the jail sometimes, or they have to be housed somewhere else if they’re not committing crimes. That costs local taxpayer money,” Vance said. “We know they have to be fed. That costs local taxpayer money. We know they have to be provided shelter. That costs money. You combine all those things, those are taxpayer dollars that are not going to build out our rural hospital infrastructure.”
While former President Donald did not make an appearance on the campaign trail on Wednesday, he is scheduled to hold his next rally in Montana on Friday.
