On Wednesday, vice presidential hopeful Tim Walz made his second visit to Asheville this campaign season. The Democratic candidate appeared at The Orange Peel to drum up support for running mate Kamala Harris, with only five days remaining until Election Day.
The event was part of a larger “Community Concert” that included a performance from the North Carolina band American Aquarium.
Walz’s last campaign visit was at the Salvage Station, a venue in the River Arts District that has since been destroyed by Hurricane Helene. On Wednesday Salvage Station owner Danny McClinton introduced Walz.
“I got the chance to visit that historic venue in September and the whole feel of it,” Walz said. “I got to sit in that green room and that little trailer. Some of you know where that was out back there,” he said.
And then it started to pour, Walz recounted.
“But everybody stuck around. They all stuck around, which was probably a bit of foreshadowing for us… because in the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Helene, the community did the exact same thing. They stuck around and pulled together.”
Walz called Asheville tough and tenacious, and he pledged his support to help rebuild the city.
“As the country watched, your resiliency and your kindness showed through. It was inspiring. Our pledge to you is Kamala and I are not going to rest and you will get all the support to rebuild this community.”
He encouraged people to “book a ticket” to visit Asheville, which he described as a “treasure.”
“The food's fantastic, he said. “The music’s electric. The creativity of the River Arts District is second to none in this country. And to the folks out there in America, these small businesses need your support.”
Walz talked about policies that would be supported under a Harris-Walz administration, including a child tax credit and making insulin affordable for everyone, and a federal ban on price gouging.
“[Kamala] laid out a to-do list,” he said. “A to-do list that she's going to do as president. And right at the top is lowering costs for everyone. That's going to be her priority, every day in the White House. Not tax cuts for billionaires, not retribution, not revenge, not getting rid of the ACA. None of those. She is talking about this, the first-ever federal ban on price gouging.”
