Vilma’s Kitchen, a restaurant serving authentic Puerto Rican cuisine, hosted Democratic Party vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz and a small group of Erie County residents on Thursday. During the event, Walz spoke with residents, rebuked comments about Puerto Ricans made at a recent Trump rally and highlighted the “opportunity economy” proposed by presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Before Walz arrived at Vilma’s Kitchen, located on State Street, attendees were greeted with Latin music and served a Puerto Rican meal. Walz’s choice of venue stands out in light of comments made at a recent Trump rally in Madison Square Garden on Sunday. During the rally, a comedian referred to Puerto Rico as “a floating island of garbage.” The Trump campaign has since attempted to distance itself from the remarks.
For its part, the Harris campaign maintains that the comments were unacceptable.
“It was not just unnecessary, but incredibly hurtful,” Walz said. “And, quite honestly in the climate we’re in, can be dangerous.”
Despite possible harm, the comments yielded at least one useful outcome: motivation.
“It gets us the opportunity now, the next five days, to energize folks,” Walz said. “To get out there and cast votes for a better tomorrow, that new way forward.”
Walz told attendees he had just come from a sit-down conversation with several undecided voters, who described themselves as primarily concerned about the economy. Pointing to Harris’ recent speech in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, Walz emphasized that Harris’ “opportunity economy” will benefit all Americans.
“While that was a closing to a campaign, that was the first opening of her presidency,” Walz said, referring to the rally.
With just over 100 hours until polls open on Election Day, the Trump and Harris campaigns are making strategic choices to maximize each remaining minute. Over the past several days, candidates and stumpers from both campaigns have crisscrossed Pennsylvania and other swing states in last-ditch attempts to sway undecided voters.
Walz’s visit to Erie County is not a surprise; in the past several weeks, former President Donald Trump, Republican Party vice presidential candidate JD Vance, Harris and Walz have all held rallies in Erie, each drawing thousands of attendees. Additionally, notable figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem have joined the caravan of voices lending their support in the campaigning process.
Walz’s most recent visit points to the campaigns’ ongoing recognition that western Pennsylvania will play a pivotal role in the upcoming presidential election. In the past four elections, the winner of Erie County has also won the presidency — and in the previous two elections, the winner took the county by fewer than 2,000 votes, according to NPR.
The Harris campaign in a news release said that as of Oct. 31, it had knocked on more than 85,000 doors in Erie, and Walz said the campaign is rapidly approaching the milestone of knocking on one million doors in Pennsylvania more broadly.
“We understand that this election is going to be a tight one,” Walz said. “It’s going to come — the folks on the ground — it’s going to come right through Pennsylvania. It’s going to be kind of on the margins, but I’m feeling incredibly optimistic.”
Looking to the future, Walz reminded attendees to focus on the potential positive outcomes of the election.
“I just think how great it’ll be to wake up Wednesday morning to have President Harris,” Walz said. “To know that we don’t have to have chaos, we don’t have to have division.”
