Second gentleman Emhoff campaigns in Kentwood

KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD) — Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff was in metro Grand Rapids Thursday afternoon to campaign for his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Speaking to supporters at Broadleaf Brewery in Kentwood, Emhoff presented his wife as experienced, strong, genuine and unchanged by her public life.

“The Kamala Harris you see running for president, it’s like the most version of her, it’s the most authentic version of her,” Emhoff said. “She’s joyful, which is a good thing. She’s also tough, which is a good thing. And it’s her empathy is her superpower. Her ability to understand what other people are going through, that is really her strength.”

He said his wife was prepared to “step into the void, step into the breach” when the need arose.

“When the stakes are the highest, the expectations are highest, that’s when she delivers in the biggest, best version of herself,” he said.

He said Harris’ goal in government has been to serve the people, that she was a “problem solver” who wanted to tackle the issues facing the nation and that she used her understanding of people to create policy.

He went on to tout Harris’ economic policies as good for regular families, including tax cuts for the middle class, lowering grocery and prescription drug costs and relieving medical debt.

“Her plan is to create an opportunity economy, where everyone has an opportunity to succeed and compete,” Emhoff said.

A recent poll conducted by Emerson College Polling, The Hill and WOOD TV8 showed a tight race in Michigan: Harris had a 3-point lead over former President Donald Trump, a statistical tie considering the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percent.

Michigan is a key battleground in the Nov. 5 election and an influx of visits from both campaigns is demonstrative of that. Harris is expected in Detroit on Monday. Emhoff said he has also been busy on the campaign trail, visiting three states Thursday alone and another Friday, as he urges voters to get out to the polls.

“The few times I get to see my wife, she says, ‘Get out there and we gotta win this thing,'” Emhoff said. “Because she’s all about doing the work. It’s all focus, it’s all discipline. She’s not getting too high because she knows we’ve got 68 days left, and every single minute, every single day counts.”

“She says hi,” he added, getting a laugh from the crowd.

Emhoff also took time to praise U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, who spoke during the campaign event and is up for reelection in November.

In a statement released in response to Emhoff’s visit, the Trump campaign blamed Harris for high inflation:

“Michiganders are living in Kamala Harris’ Michigan right now. That’s a Michigan where young people can’t afford to buy a home, families can’t afford groceries, where we’ve declared war on gas-powered vehicles and where crime from our southern border hurts Michiganders. It doesn’t matter who is delivering Kamala’s gaslighting message – Michiganders won’t fall for it.”

Team Trump Michigan Communications Director Victoria LaCivita

Trump had two events in Michigan this week, in Detroit on Monday and in Mid-Michigan Thursday .

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