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Jean Treuthart, retired CEO of YWCA York, said she’s glad she went to the rally.
“I was surprised by how many Republicans were there, and they were letting everybody know that they’re Republicans voting for Harris,” she said.
She said there was a lot of straight talk about policies and plans. She likes the idea of raising the tax credit for new entrepreneurs from $5,000 to $50,000 and making homes more affordable for first-time homebuyers. It would be helpful especially for some of the younger generations.
She also said the country needs to continue to create not just new jobs, but ones that can support an individual and a family.
Treuthart said she feels Walz was relatable and didn't give a campaign pitch.
“It wasn't the usual pitch but really had direct talk relatable to people in York County and to Pennsylvania about what's at stake for us,” she said.
-Teresa Boeckel
Walz said Americans should have the freedom to send their kids to school without being shot. He said he supports the Second Amendment.
"I'm a veteran," he said. "I'm a gun owner, I'm a hunter. This is not about the Second Amendment. This is about our kids."
He said after the recent school shooting in Georgia, Trump said we "have to get over it" and that Vance called it "a fact of life."
Walz said, "Kamala Harris said it doesn't have to be."
He reminded the crowd that Election Day is approaching and that mail-in ballots should be arriving soon and to vote. "All gas and no brakes," he said. "I'll set the example. We will sleep when we're dead, because I'm not sleeping."
He then led the crowd in the call-and-response chant, "When we fight. We win."
And then exited the stage at 4:34 p.m. to "Small Town."
Walz waded into the crowd, shaking hands and chatting with supporters, and taking selfies with them.
-Mike Argento
Presidential campaign: Tim Walz lands at Harrisburg International Airport to start Central PA bus tour
Walz mentioned that he saw Trump do a campaign stop at a grocery store, paying for a woman's groceries. Walz said he would bet that was the first time Trump's been in a grocery store since 1985.
He said Trump lost a trade war with China and increased the trade deficit. He said Trump's "botched" reaction to the COVID pandemic and the ensuing economic hardships left a mess for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to clean up.
Walz made a pitch to Republicans.
"I want to make it clear," he said, "we have Republicans in the crowd here. The Republican Party has added much to this country. We need them back again."
The GOP used to talk about freedom, he said, but now it means the freedom to invade doctors' offices and bedrooms.
"They are super concerned about our bedrooms," he said. "That's not normal. They say as a school teacher, I should stop calling people weird. They should stop doing weird things."
"We cannot afford four more years of Donald Trump," Walz said.
-Mike Argento
Walz took the stage at 3:59 p.m. to the strains of John Mellencamp's "Small Town."
He lauded Fetterman, saying he's "the only guy who can dress down as good as me." Fetterman, of course, was wearing his trademark black Dickie's work shirt and shorts.
Walz mentioned the vice presidential debate last night against JD Vance.
"Not bad for a football coach," he said. He said Vance was "slick," but "you can't rewrite history."
He said Vance misled the audience about Trump's record. "That's gaslighting," he said.
Walz mentioned that Vance said Trump saved the Affordable Care Act. "Are you kidding me?" Walz said. "He spent his entire presidency trying to eliminate it."
Walz said he asked Vance point-blank whether Trump lost the 2020 election, and "he refused to answer." Vance, he said, "made it clear" he would do what Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence didn't do and violate the Constitution to overturn the election results.
"That should be absolutely disqualifying if you are to be vice president," Walz said.
He also mentioned the "eating dogs" comments made by Trump. The crowd giggled and Walz said, "If this wasn't so damn serious, it would be funny. But character matters. Character matters and Kamala Harris has it."
Walz said Minnesota and Pennsylvania have a lot in common but "not Super bowl rings."
"Give me my moment," he said. "We're 4-0. Go Vikings."
-Mike Argento
Local resident Gerry Anne Johnson followed Fetterman on stageand asks, "What am I doing here?"
She said, "I'm a lifelong Republican. I voted in my first election in 1972 - you can tell how old I am - but I have seen the light."
Her talk was interrupted by a medical emergency at the front of the crowd and calls for a medic. The arena, which had been raucous, fell silent.
After the person wsa gurneyed out of the arena, Johnson resumed, saying, "We here in central Pa, especially in York County, have the power to decide what our future looks like. We will not give it over to Donald Trump and J.D. Vance," she said.
Johnson made an appeal to Republicans. "There are a lot of us out there," she said of Republicans who support Harris and Walz. "It's time to turn the page on the chaos and division of Trump and elect real leaders who are going to fight for us."
-Mike Argento
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman took the stage just after 3:30 p.m. He dropped some "York cred" on crowd.
"Who ever went to the York Mall?" he asked.
He recalled his father bringing him to the fairgrounds to see the Statler Brothers and asked if anyone remembers Avalon's, the dairy and restaurant in East York, on the the site of the York Galleria Mall.
Speaking about Vance, Fetterman said, "I work with him. You might think, is he really that weird? And I'm here to say, Yes, I can confirm that."
Fetterman said Vance called Trump "America's Hitler" and once said that he hates the police. "I thought we were the ones who were soft on crime."
Fetterman compared Vance to Dr. Mehmet Oz, his opponent in his last election, says they're both "weird." He said both were once accomplished "but sold their souls to be about MAGA."
Fetterman went after Trump, saying he is "not going to pretend this is a normal election year." Trump, he said, talks about immigrants "eating the dogs. They're eating the cats." Trump recently said Harris "Just decided to become Black" and called the vice president "mentally impaired" and said "If I lose this election, you can blame the Jews."
Fetterman said Harris and Walz are talking about "real issues" and challenged the media "to find the last logical, sane, decent thing Trump has said in this election."
-Mike Argento
Nita Sue Kent, an 82-year-old retired freelance writer from Elizabethtown, was holding a hand-printed sign that said, "A Republican for Harris/Walz."
She said she had been a Republican since she first registered to vote when she was 18, growing up in Texas. She said, "I've been a never-Trumper person ever since the first time he ran."
She said she believes in the Constitution and the rule of law and that Trump doesn't believe in either. It's about character, she said. "99.9 percent. His very essence to me is disqualifying."
-Mike Argento
York County Commissioner Doug Hoke greeted the crowd by saying, "I will tell you, it is unbelievable the electricity in this room and this county."
Hoke praised Walz's debate performance, saying the Minnesota governor did "a fantastic job." He said no matter whether you live in York City or York County, Walz and Harris will fight for all of you.
"The same cannot be said for the other guys in this race."
When he was president, Trump "turned his back on rural America to help out special interests, corporations and billionaires. We're not going back," Hoke said. The crowd responded by chanting "We're not going back," the Harris campaign slogan.
The pre-rally playlist included Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive," Tom Petty's "American Girl," the Jackson 5, Rhianna and Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA." Ironically, most of the artists represented in the list have sent cease and desist letters to the Trump campaign for using their music. (Also, the politicians who play "Born in the USA" at their rallies apparently have never listened to the lyrics.)
-Mike Argento
Vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz has arrived in Harrisburg.
He greeted a crowd of supporters as some took pictures.
Walz said he is passionate about addressing the problem of school shootings. He said he has been meeting with people where the shootings have happened. He also clarified comments he made about the deadly Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests . He said he was in Hong Kong with students in 1989.
"My point on this was Donald Trump got played on the trade war, he created the largest deficit with China in American history, and he cost us 150,000 jobs," Walz said.
"Thank you all. I'm excited about this. I think in the midst of this you saw something very clear," he said. "It is disqualifying to not acknowledge that the 2020 election was won by (President) Joe Biden, it's as simple as that."
-Matt Toth
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. has arrived at Harrisburg International Airport where a crowd is waiting.
Some in the crowd are taking photos.
Presidential candidate Tim Walz is expected to arrive at the airport this afternoon.
-Matt Toth
Wayne Black, a 55-year-old hospital kitchen porter from Philadelphia, took the day off to hawk Harris T-shirts at the rally, walking along the traffic backed up on Highland Avenue, the white T-shirts draped over his shoulders. "I got some time I have to use so I took the day off," he said.
Business was brisk. One woman approached him and asked how much for a shirt. He replied, "$22, two for $35." The woman balked. Blck countered, "$15." The woman said, "I only have $10 in my pocket." Black said, "You got it." He said later, "I still get a piece. If she had it, she would have paid $15. I still make $2."
Black has sold T-shirts at campaign stops around the state, mostly staying in the Philadelphia area. He came to York because, he said, "they've never been around here."
Black was disappointed that Harris didn't accompany Walz. "Kamala was supposed to be here," he said, "but Tim is fine. Two good people with good minds. Anybody who votes for Trump, their minds aren't right."
-Mike Argento
Wade Smith, who is attending the rally, said he is one of the only Kamala supporters in his friend group. A majority of his Republican friends are Trump supporters though Smith said he tends to keep an open mind, the older he gets.
Jane Loren of Mechanicsburg has been attending presidential rallies since the 1960s. “It’s an important thing to vote, it’s the most important thing you can do,” she said.
Arthur Rees and his sister, Marilyn, from Syracuse, New York traveled to York to see the vice-presidential candidate.
“We’re pro democracy; we think democracy right now is at risk; and we need leaders that have a very positive outlook on our future," Arthur Rees said.
Patricia Edge of Fairview Township said: “We have to be serious about what’s happening in our country.”
She is wearing an orange and yellow Kamala button.
"It means we're going to get rid of the orange stain in the White House," she said.
For Mildred Martin, of York, this is her first time attending a presidential rally. She’s here today because she’s interested in the process, and said she wants to be a part of it.
Jo Bitzer of Cumberland County has been involved in politics since the 1980s. “I’ve been a Democrat my whole life. I watched the debate and wanted to come out and show my support,” she said.
-Lena Tzivekis
Montana Hartman of Carlisle is waiting at Harrisburg International Airport this morning for vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz to arrive.
Hartman said he unsuccessfully ran for a state House seat this year and was burned out with politics. After President Joe Biden stepped down from running for re-election, he became revitalized again.
“I think last night we saw the most productive debate we’ve had in a very long time,” he said. “It was the beginning of getting back to normal, and I think that’s part of Tim Walz that I’m here for.”
-Matt Toth
Couple waiting to see Walz discuss democracy, women's rights
Jennifer and Jonathan Keeler of Derry Township, Dauphin County also are waiting to greet vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz at the airport.
The couple has supported Biden, and now Harris, in the race against former president Donald Trump.
“I think Kamala Harris needs to win for democracy and especially for me, women’s choice,” Jennifer Keeler said. “I’m over 50, so Vance may not like that, but I have two daughters that I care about, and I want to see them have the same choices I did.”
Jonathan Keeler said said there’s more enthusiasm now that Harris is in the campaign.
“For me, it was the debate I wanted to see,” he said. “It was a civil debate. Even though I might not agree with one candidate over the other, I liked the way the debate went off. They talked to each other."
-Matt Toth
Voters guide: Who's running for office, and other things to know for the Nov. 5, 2024 general election
Jean Treuthart, retired CEO of YWCA York, said there’s so much excitement around the Harris-Walz campaign, and she’s looking forward to attending the rally today.
She said she does not watch the political debates because she doesn’t believe they are a good evaluative tool. She pays attention to the policies and plans of the candidates.
“I think for this campaign for me, I have found the positive and encouraging messaging to be really inspirational and refreshing,” she said. “I'm not the only one. People I know who have been on the fence or we're thinking that they weren't going to vote at all are now supporting the Harris/Walz ticket. And it's not just Democrats. So I think a lot of us are done with that negativity and tearing each other down.”
Treuthart said she hopes to hear Walz talk about the policies and plans during the campaign stop. She believes that keeping the child tax credit is important to families − if anything, it should be expanded.
She also hopes the campaign continues to talk about violent crime being at the lowest rate in 20 years.
People talk about taxes during every campaign, Treuthart said. She wishes this administration would get down to having people pay their fair share so that “maybe we could lower taxes on average folks who really are feeling a pinch.”
What also appeals to Treuthart? If elected, Kamala Harris will become the first woman to serve as president of the United States.
“It is long past the time the United States should have had a woman in the White House,” she said. “... that is still really important and exciting to a lot of people — and not just women.”
-Teresa Boeckel
Cathy Shaffer of Spring Garden Township is attending the rally today and said she’s excited for Walz’s visit. She’s disappointed that presidential candidate Kamala Harris will not be able to attend, but she understands that the vice president needs to be in Georgia to survey the damage from Hurricane Helene.
“I’m going to support his candidacy and the ticket,” she said.
Shaffer said she believes Walz performed well during the vice-presidential debate Tuesday night. He came across as genuine.
The responses from his opponent, JD Vance, she said, were laced with lies, and he could not admit that Trump did not win the last election.
“I thought he had a strong finish,” she said of Walz.
-Teresa Boeckel
Amy Klinedinst and her 14-year-old daughter, Ava, of Springettsbury Township were the first in line outside of the UPMC Arena to see the vice-presidential candidate. Ava took the day off from school to attend the event.
Klinedinst said she is fortunate to be better off than she was four years ago, but she realizes there are people who are not. She feels this administration can help them and is headed in the right direction.
"We've got to protect democracy for sure," she said.
- Paul Kuehnel
Battle of the running mates: JD Vance and Tim Walz skirmish in tense VP debate
Parking will be restricted near the York fairgrounds today for a road closure during Walz’s visit.
Parking will be prohibited from noon to 7 p.m. on Highland Avenue between Filbert and Leonard streets, according to West York borough. Vehicles will be towed if they are not moved.
The borough says it will be doing some maintenance on the road, too.
- Teresa Boeckel
More on VP debate: The winners (and losers) from VP debate between JD Vance, Tim Walz
Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz to speak in York
Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz will attend a rally at the York fairgrounds on Wednesday, one day after a national debate with Republican candidate JD Vance in the race for the White House.
Walz will be joined by U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who has ties to York County .
Invitees initially were told that both presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Walz planned to attend, but the vice president's schedule has changed. She will travel to Georgia to tour the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, USA Today reported.
The rally at the York Expo Center will be held at the UPMC Arena. Doors open at 12:30 p.m., and attendees are asked to arrive no later than 2:30 p.m.
Pennsylvania is one of the battleground states in the presidential race .
Harris and Walz have visited Pennsylvania multiple times.
Walz spent a couple of hours in Lancaster County last month, greeting elected Democratic officials and buying whoopie pies at Cherry Hill Orchards in Pequea Township, according to Lancaster Online .
The rally on Wednesday will mark Walz's first visit to York County.
Chad Baker, chairperson of the Democratic Party of York County, said in a statement earlier this week: "... I truly believe this points to the critical importance of Pennsylvania in this election cycle and how influential York County can be in the overall outcome," he said.
The general election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 5.
VP debate highlights: 5 things to take away from Vance-Walz showdown
Former President Donald Trump spoke in York last month
Former President Donald Trump, who is the Republican nominee, came to York on Aug. 19 and spoke at Precision Custom Components. His running mate, JD Vance, was not present at the event.
It marked his first visit to York in the heated presidential race.
Trump addressed his signature issues — trade, tariffs, tax cuts, energy production and immigration — during his 54-minute speech.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Live updates: Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz visits York
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