Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz speaks at a rally in La Vista, Nebraska, on Saturday, August 17, 2024. (Naomi Delkamiller/Nebraska News Service)

OMAHA — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a former high school teacher and coach from Nebraska, is running for president for the second time Campaign stop October 19 in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District.

Walz visited La Vista the weekend after his visit appointed Democratic Party Vice President Kamala Harris. He held a rally that filled a concert hall in suburban Sarpy County with supporters hoping to win a single vote from the 2nd District.

The 2nd District is seen by many political observers as winnable despite a slight Republican lean. Divisions have occurred twice in the last four presidential elections, most recently between President Joe Biden in 2020 and Trump in 2016.

Harris leads most national and local polls in the 2nd District, while former Republican President Donald Trump is well ahead nationally. Both campaigns are knocking on the doors of voters in the Omaha area, but Harris and her supporters have poured more money into local advertising.

Nebraska and Maine award a single electoral vote to the winner of the presidential election in each congressional district. The 48 other states award all of their electoral votes to the statewide winner, an approach many call winner-take-all.

Walz’s October rally comes after Republicans in the officially bipartisan Nebraska Legislature and Gov. Jim Pillen failed to find enough votes to move the state to winner-take-all despite the help of former President Donald Trump and his team. Take-All”.

His wife, Gwen, hosted a stop on Oct. 5 during a swing state event Swing District bus tour for Reproductive Rights on the campus of Metropolitan Community College in North Omaha.

Ohio Senator JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, stopped in Omaha for a fundraiser on August 21 visited local Republicans at a local sports bar.

Trump’s campaign team also hosted Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa at a campaign rally in West Omaha on Saturday.

The last time Tim Walz was here, he blamed Vance for not knowing Nebraska. He joked that Vance didn’t know what a runza was and ended his visit by eating one.

Essentially, Walz argued that Harris was the better choice when it came to reproductive rights, political freedoms, economic opportunity and democratic ideals. He also spoke about the needs of veterans and his service in the Nebraska and Minnesota National Guards.

Jane Kleeb, chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said Nebraska is “on the map” to support Harris and Walz in the presidential race. She said she was proud that the 2nd District was able to bring Walz back to his home state, “this time to cheer people on to vote early and vote for a new path forward.”

Liz Huston, a regional spokeswoman for Trump’s campaign, called Walz “out of touch with Nebraskans.” She criticized his stance on immigration enforcement, public safety and climate change.

“Tim Walz is dangerously liberal and his record speaks for itself,” she said. “Nebraskans want a leader who puts Americans first, and that’s why they will overwhelmingly vote for President Trump.”

Further details about the Walz visit will be announced shortly.

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