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Democrats will need to have “hard conversations” with voters for Vice President Kamala Harris to win in November, the wife of her running mate said in Bangor on Friday.
The visit from Gwen Walz, who is married to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, made her the highest-profile Harris surrogate to visit Maine’s swing 2nd Congressional District so far in 2024. Former President Donald Trump won the district in the last two elections, and he is the Republican nominee again this year after losing to President Joe Biden in 2020.
This year’s election was looking bad for Democrats until Biden left the race in July due to concerns about his age. Harris quickly locked down the nomination and has turned the national race into a toss up. She has a narrow lead over Trump in national polls, while swing states including the all-important Pennsylvania look to be even tighter.
Harris is likely to win Maine, but since the state is one of two to split its electoral votes by district, the 2nd District is worth one of Maine’s four electors. While most experts still favor Trump here, Democrats have been buoyed by the national momentum and a poll last month that showed Harris ahead of Trump in the district.
“When we tell stories, we win,” Walz told campaign volunteers at a Democratic office on Harlow Street. “I’m asking you to have hard conversations with your undecided neighbors.”
Walz made her remarks on Friday afternoon after reading to about a dozen children at the Briar Patch, a downtown bookstore, alongside Gov. Janet Mills and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine’s 1st District. Walz had events in Portland and New Hampshire later in the day.
Her visit could be a sign that more attention could be given to the 2nd District, which is also playing host to a top-tier House race between U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a centrist Democrat and Marine veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and the Trump-endorsed state Rep. Austin Theriault, R-Fort Kent, a former NASCAR driver.
The presidential race has been a major theme in that election. Golden backed Biden in 2020 but has refused to say who he is voting for this year. Theriault has needled the congressman over that. All of this is a nod to Trump’s hold over the district, although Theriault has tried to appeal to the middle of the electorate by saying he would bring “more balance” to Washington.
While the 2nd District leans Republican, there are signs that it could be more competitive than it was during Trump’s 10-percentage-point victory in 2016 and his 7-point one four years ago. Former Republican Gov. Paul LePage narrowly took the district in his 2022 race against Mills. Last month’s University of New Hampshire poll had Harris up 5 points.
The close election is partially a product of Trump remaining a deeply divisive candidate four years after ceding the White House to Biden. He has rarely exceeded 45 percent favorability in national polls. His campaign has been marked by a felony conviction in New York on top of a ream of other legal issues and the July assassination attempt on him in Pennsylvania.
He still has a roughly even chance of reclaiming the White House, in large part due to Biden shouldering blame for pessimism about the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent survey from The New York Times and Siena College found 60 percent of Americans think the country is on the wrong track, which is typically a grim sign for the incumbent’s party.
