Five Democratic governors made a stop at Penn State on Sunday afternoon to rally voters for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz with two weeks remaining until Election Day.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers have been taking the Blue Wall Bus Tour through Michigan and Western Pennsylvania — Whitmer and Evers started the tour in the Badger State — before making their way to State College, where they were joined by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Maine Gov. Janet Mills.
“This election will come down to probably tens of thousands of votes. What happens here on this campus is going to have a massive impact on the future, not just of this commonwealth, but also this country,” Shapiro said. “Gretchen got us all together on this bus, and we’ve been blessed to have a whole bunch of governors join us along the way. Governors from states all across this country are coming to Wisconsin and Michigan and, yes, Pennsylvania, because you’re the ones with the power to help their residents, to help the citizens all across this country. You have enormous power that’s been passed down to you for the last 248 years.”
A crowd of about 200 gathered for the event, the penultimate stop of a swing-state tour scheduled to conclude later Sunday in Carlisle. State College Mayor Ezra Nanes, state Rep. Paul Takac, D-College Township, attorney general candidate Eugene DePasquale and Centre County Commissioners Amber Concepcion and Mark Higgins introduced the governors, encouraging support for Harris as well as down-ballot Democrats.
Speaking for about 25 minutes across from Beaver Stadium on a picturesque fall afternoon, the governors sought to draw a contrast between Harris and Republican candidate former President Donald Trump.
“This election, it’s all about our future, about making sure we protect our planet, addressing gun violence in our communities, doing positive things that are going to lift people up, restoring rights in our community,” Shapiro said. “… You should feel good about voting for Kamala Harris. This isn’t just a vote against Donald Trump. This is a vote for a more positive, inclusive future, one where no matter what you look like, where you come from, who you love or who you pray to, Kamala Harris is going to be a president for all of you.
The governors also urged those in attendance to encourage others to register to vote by the deadline on Monday, Oct. 21, to make the case for Harris and to be sure they have a plan to cast their ballots.
“It means talking to your fellow Pennsylvanians,” Whitmer said. “It means having the conversations, knocking the doors, making the phone calls. That’s how elections are won.”
Evers added that the election will be won before Nov. 5.
“I guarantee you… that election is going to be figured out in the next two weeks,” Evers said. “Not on the 5th, in the next two weeks. And that’s why doing the calls, doing the doors, all the things that you have been doing, you’ve got to keep doing it, and I know you will. The blue wall is going to be strong. We’re going to get there.”
Centre County had seen few high-profile campaign surrogates this cycle, but this weekend has been a busy one. On Thursday, former Republican presidential candidate and Donald Trump supporter Vivek Ramaswany spoke on campus and a day later New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stumped for Harris at The State Theatre in State College
Nanes told StateCollege.com that the burst of activity is unsurprising, given Pennsylvania’s swing-state status and the large number of potential young voters at the university.
“It’s something I knew would happen because State College is on the path to the White House,” Nanes said. “Pennsylvania is the pivotal swing state, and so all of the campaigns realize how important it is to come here and speak to this community, especially with such a large and dynamic student population. So, coming here means a lot. It gets everybody energized. It shows people in this community how important their vote and their action is to the election.”
As mayor and as a prominent figure in local Democratic politics, Nanes said he has also observed high energy around the election.
“You can see people are fired up for this election,” he said. “Just Friday night, we had Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez here. That packed the State Theater. It was overflow crowd, couldn’t even let everybody in. It was so, so much energy. I’ve rarely seen that kind of energy. And today you can see this crowd is fired up.”
