In Flint, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz predicts women will send Donald Trump a message Tuesday

FLINT — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made a direct appeal to men to support Vice President Kamala Harris during a campaign event in Flint on Friday, but said he believes support from women will push her campaign over the finish line and make her the next president. United States. .

Polls show a huge and possibly widening gender gap in Tuesday’s presidential election, Republican Donald Trump leads among male voters by 6 percentage points or more, but trails by double digits among female voters.

“Think about the women you love,” Walz, who is running for vice president, told the men who were among about 250 supporters gathered in a hangar at Flints Bishop International Airport. With Trump appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed abortion rights for decades, and some states now enacting strict abortion bans, “their lives are literally at stake on how this election goes.”

With four days until Election Day, “Kamala Harris and I … feel that women across the country of every age, regardless of party, are going to send a loud and clear message to Donald Trump,” Walz said.

Walz, a former congressman, has been Minnesota’s governor since 2019. The military veteran, former high school teacher and assistant football coach started his Michigan day in Detroit and spoke for about 20 minutes in Flint before heading to the final Friday event in Traverse. City.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Victoria LaCivita said Walz thinks women and other voters are stupid if he thinks they will support four more years of the Biden-Harris administration, marked by high inflation and large numbers of illegal migrants crossing the Mexico-U.S. border.

“This is why the people of Michigan are going to kick Walz and Kamala to the curb on November 5th when they re-elect President Donald Trump,” LaCivita said in an emailed statement.

Colleen Joseph of Flint, a retired nurse, said she agreed with the political views. observers who believe polls may be underestimating Harris’ support among women.

Some Harris voters may be embarrassed to admit it, but when they “get behind that screen, they’re going to vote for Kamala Harris,” Joseph said while waiting in line at a Walz event in Flint, adding that she is confident of a Democratic victory on Tuesday.

Flint resident Charlette Keith said she attended Harris’ rally at the Flint Dort Financial Center on Oct. 4, but was glad to see Walz for the first time on Friday.

Kate, who has already voted, said she feels confident but is knocking on doors and “calling everyone I know just to make sure we vote.” She said she thought “ground play is going to be very, very, very important.”

Earlier Friday in Detroit, Walz began a roundtable discussion with black business leaders at the Westin Book Cadillac hotel downtown by praising Michigan’s largest city.

He shared that he went to Belle Isle this morning, calling it “great,” and then said Minnesota Vikings fans were “absolutely happy with the Lions’ success.”

Walz used the conversation as something of a campaign temperature check from those on the ground before heading to the Region 1A UAW union hall in Taylor, where he gathered a small crowd of union-affiliated supporters who had endorsed Harris.

“Momentum is on our side. We have four days left. We don’t take anything for granted,” he said. “This game is a draw. Guys, two minutes left. The good news is that we have the ball.” And he called Harris “the best defender in the league” while her GOP rival was confused, according to Walz.

– And look, you saw it. You’ve seen it and it happened again today. Donald Trump continues to slide into a hateful and divisive place that we don’t want to go to,” Walz said.

Contact Paul Egan at 517-372-8660 or [email protected].

This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Walz predicts women in Flint will send Donald Trump a message on Tuesday