Gov. Walz campaigns at Minnesota State Fair, eats pork chop and serves ice cream
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Gov. Tim Walz campaigned at the Minnesota State Fair on Sunday.
Like a lot of visitors to the fair, the Democratic vice presidential nominee went straight for the food. He bought a pork chop at Peterson's Chicken N Chops.
“I’m so happy I got a day out here,” he said.
The Walz drop-in was starkly different than his other fair visits over the years. There was immense security — from steel-barriers to a large presence of law enforcement— given his new national status. He couldn’t freely roam the fairgrounds and passersby were largely kept at a distance. Walz did serve ice cream and mingle with people and workers already in the dairy building.
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MPR News asked him how he’s balancing his role as Governor while campaigning.
“I got a good team being able to manage my schedule,” he said. “We appointed three great judges last week in Ramsey County, as you saw every night, we go through all of the decision memos and meeting with the commissioners. I stay updated throughout the day.”
Walz, who was wearing Carhartt work pants, a blue T-shirt and a brown baseball cap, saw the visit as an opportunity to brag about his home.
“For those not from Minnesota, just to be clear, there’s a lot of great state fairs in the country, this is the best one,” he said. “I can say that having tried pork chops in Iowa.”
Walz acknowledged that his status as Kamala Harris' running mate may have caused more disruption that usual at an already packed fairgrounds in Falcon Heights. But he said the increased attention gave him a chance to promote Minnesota's economy and culture.
"I think people are seeing that we’re getting to talk about Minnesota across the country, talk about the economy here, talk about things like the state fair, talk about agriculture,” Walz said.
Walz is scheduled to spend Labor Day meeting with labor leaders in St. Paul before delivering remarks at the Milwaukee Area Labor Council’s Laborfest.
