Walz returns to Pittsburgh as part of two-day swing through crucial battleground state of Pa.

By Steve Bohnel and Jonathan D. Salant / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz visited Pittsburgh on Wednesday in a two-day swing through Pennsylvania, the battleground state that may determine the winner of the 2024 presidential election. He visited an ice cream and candy shop in Moon after arriving from Lancaster, where he bought whoopie pies and donuts.

“There’s a very small number of voters who have not yet decided whether they’ll vote and, if they vote, for whom they’ll vote in this presidential election,” said Ben Dworkin, director of Rowan University’s Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship in New Jersey.

“Many of this group are in rural areas. The Democratic Party knows they need to reach out to those folks. It’s clear that the way you connect with those voters is to do what they do — go to their shops, be in their neighborhoods. The local coverage will make a bigger difference in appealing to these voters than some giant rally.”

Mr. Walz and daughter Hope, outfitted in camouflage hats, were greeted by Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato after disembarking from their plane at Pittsburgh International Airport. 

They then headed to Moon, where they stopped at the Milk Shake Factory and left with a bag of chocolate-covered pretzels. Mr. Walz had been in Moon last month with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on a bus tour through parts of Allegheny and Beaver counties before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. At that time, they visited a Sheetz convenience store.

Mr. Walz had arrived midday from Lancaster, where his stops included Cherry Hill Orchards. There he learned about the history of whoopie pies — and Pennsylvania’s claim to have invented them — before picking out pumpkin and chocolate versions along with apple cider donuts. 

“Look at me, I have no problem picking out donuts,” he said.

He also visited county Democrats at their headquarters, where he called Wednesday’s shooting at a Georgia high school “tragic.” Four people were killed and the suspected shooter was in custody.

“It’s a situation that’s all too common, and our hearts are out there right now,” he said.

Lancaster is one of four rural counties where residents strongly supported former President Donald Trump in 2020 but where Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign officials say they hope to make inroads with Mr. Walz, who grew up on a farm in Nebraska and has reached out to rural areas as a U.S. House member and as governor of Minnesota.

But Trump Pennsylvania campaign spokesman Kush Desai said Mr. Walz was wasting his time, noting that several relatives of the Minnesota governor support the former president.

“Given Walz can’t even win over his own family members, there’s no chance he or Kamala are going to change the fact that Lancaster County is Trump country,” said Mr. Desai.

Mr. Walz proceeds to Erie, where he has a full schedule and a rally Thursday.