This is the Minnesota first lady’s first trip to Nevada since her husband, Tim Walz, joined Harris’ campaign
By Klarize Medenilla/AJPress
GWEN Walz, wife of vice presidential hopeful Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, kicked off a major canvassing effort for Democratic voters and volunteers in Nevada on Tuesday, Sept. 17, which happened to be National Voter Registration Day.
The event, held at Xiao Long Dumplings in Las Vegas’ Chinatown, was designed to mobilize Nevadan Democrats from Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities—the latest in a series of cultural campaign stops from the Harris-Walz team.
Gwen Walz, 58, worked as a public school teacher for two decades before her husband became governor of Minnesota. On Tuesday, she shared that this experience helped her appreciate and understand “the importance of diversity in our classrooms” which extends to all corners of American life.
“That’s why I’m so proud to support a ticket with a vision for the future that everyone can be a part of, especially our AANHPI neighbors, family and friends,” Gwen Walz said. “Our nation has been blessed by your many contributions. You have enriched our nation with beautiful and diverse cultures and strong values, like hard work, inclusivity, community service, faith and family, and love of country.”
The campaign stop also doubled as a fall celebration where the Minnesotan first lady shared traditional Chinese mooncakes and dumplings while highlighting the Harris-Walz promise to bolster small businesses and “give middle-class families a fighting chance.”
“This election is about who’s fighting for you—Kamala and Tim have spent their careers fighting for middle-class families like the ones they grew up in,” she said. “So when we send them to the White House, they’ll be a President and Vice President for all Americans. They’ll lower the cost of your health care and housing, gas and groceries, they’ll make sure you can get a good-paying job, and help new small businesses get off the ground.”
In addition to Gwen Walz, local AANHPI also emphasized key aspects of the Harris-Walz ticket that they say benefit The Silver State’s growing AANHPI community.
Maya Kwong, owner of Xiao Long Dumpings who is Chinese American, shared her support for the Harris-Walz team—which she said is making sure that small business owners like herself have “an opportunity, not just to get by, but to [go] forward.”
“I know firsthand that opening a business takes more than just hard work. It takes a whole lot of money as well and VP Harris has a plan to increase tax incentives for new small business owners, and for that I’m very thankful,” Kwong said, referencing Harris’ ambitious plan to increase tax deductions for new small businesses from $5,000 to $50,000.
Filipina American Catherine Francisco, president of the AAPI Chamber of Commerce of Southern Nevada, shared that while the Harris-Walz ticket will help the community thrive, the Republican ticket will do the opposite.
“While Kamala Harris is fighting for AANHPI communities – lowering costs, expanding opportunity – Donald Trump is fighting for billionaires and big corporations at our expense,” Francisco said. “As life-long public servants, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz have always stood up for the AANHPI community, and they know that the country can not afford four more years of Donald Trump’s divisiveness.”
Gwen Walz’ visit to Las Vegas is the latest of a series of visits to other West Coast stops to drum up support for the Democratic ticket, with less than 50 days before Election Day.
Tim Walz is scheduled to square off against Republican vice president hopeful Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) on Oct. 1 in a debate hosted by CBS News
