Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaking Wednesday at a campaign fundraiser in Denver, encouraged Democrats to maintain a breakneck pace heading into the final three months of the 2024 presidential election.
“Sleep when you’re dead,” Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ recently selected running mate, told a fired up crowd.
Some $3 million was raised at the event, according to host Tim Gill, a Democratic megadonor who opened up his central Denver estate – known as the Phipps Mansion – to about 150 people for the occasion. The Denver visit was part of a five-state fundraising swing for Walz, who is making his first solo appearances since he and Harris became the presumptive Democratic ticket in the presidential race.
In a speech just shy of 15 minutes, Walz attacked Republicans for supporting school vouchers, wavering on financial support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, and for restricting abortion access.
“You need to make your own health care decisions, not us,” he said. “We don’t need their help deciding which books we’re going to read. We will decide that on our own.”
He also attacked former President Donald Trump for falsely claiming that photos showing large crowds at recent Harris-Walz events were generated by artificial intelligence.
“I assure you, in Detroit that wasn’t AI,” he said. “And I’ll also assure you every one of the ballots that they’re going to cast will not be AI.”
Walz said it’s been an “interesting” week since Harris named him on Aug. 6 as her vice president pick after President Joe Biden decided mid-election cycle not to seek reelection.
“That’s a Minnesota word,” he said. “‘Interesting,’ Minnesotans know, has multiple meanings. They called me up, picked me up at my house last Tuesday, put me on a plane and flew me to Philadelphia and said ‘here, you’ve got 45 minutes. Give this speech off the teleprompter.’”
Walz said he had never used a teleprompter before.
“Politics is a means to an end, and that end is a better, fairer country for everyone,” he said. “You don’t get elected to office to bank political capital for the next election. You get elected to office to burn that capital” to make people’s lives better.
Walz also contrasted the life experiences of Trump and Harris, who as a kid worked part time at McDonalds.
“Can you picture Donald Trump working at a McDonalds?” Walz said. “You think he knows you? You think he knows who you are? You think he knows your family?”
Walz was accompanied at the event by his daughter, Hope. He was introduced by Gov. Jared Polis, the nation’s first openly gay governor. Polis attacked Trump for being a convicted felon and for “destroying voting rights, destroying LGBTQ rights.”
“The future is the bright future that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are going to bring for every American – no matter who they are,” said Polis, who has become a top Harris surrogate.
Gill made his fortune as a software entrepreneur and is a prominent LGBTQ activist.
“Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz are ready to carry the torch of liberty forward, ensuring that the gains we’ve made aren’t lost,” Gill said, standing in the backyard of his 33,000-square-foot home.
Gill said Walz’s “ability to reach across the aisle while staying true to our Democratic values makes Tim exactly who we need at this moment.”
Gill’s husband, Scott Miller, was nominated by Biden to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein and has held the job since 2021.
Tickets for the fundraiser started at $1,000. Donors who gave at least $50,000 received an opportunity to get their photo taken with Walz.
The money raised will go toward the Harris Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee benefiting Harris’ campaign, state Democratic parties across the country and the Democratic National Committee.
The fundraiser was attended by a list of top Colorado Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, Secretary of State Jena Griswold, and former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb. Also in attendance were former U.S. Reps. John Salazar and Ed Perlmutter.
Walz served in Congress with Polis, Salazar and Perlmutter.
Walz, who didn’t take questions from a small group of reporters at the event, was headed to Boston after his stop in Colorado.
