On the First Day of Early Voting in Wisconsin, Obama and Walz campaign in Madison

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By Marlon WhiteEagle

October 23, 2024

Native Vote 2024. On the first day of early voting in Wisconsin, former President Barack Obama and Minnesota Governor, and current Democratic Vice President nominee, Tim Walz campaigned in Madison for the Harris Walz ticket.

Election Day is less than two weeks away and according to polls, the race for the White House is a dead heat. Early voting, or in person absentee voting, started Tuesday, Oct. 22, while mail-in absentee began Sept. 19 in Wisconsin.

 The campaign rally was held at the Alliant Energy Center, where supporters heard from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, first-time voter and Madison College student Nevaeh Jackson-Winters, Dane County Executive Jamie Kuhn, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, Congressman Mark Pocan, Governor Tony Evers, Senator Tammy Baldwin, and West Wing actor Bradley Whitford prior to Walz and Obama taking the stage.

Each speaker shared messages to energize and mobilize the estimated 7,000 voters, especially asking them to go vote early or have a plan to vote.

When Gov. Walz took the stage, he spoke about his football coaching experience and how campaigning for the White House requires the same level of energy and stamina.

“We play all the way through to that final whistle. And that’s the exact energy that Kamala Harris and I are bringing to these final 14 days,” Walz said.

Gov. Walz and Vice President Harris have been at it; in an attempt to get those undecided voters, they’ve been doing numerous interviews in the past few weeks. He said they’ve done podcast, radio, television interviews to reach voters about their policies.

Walz jokingly said he is one interview away from being a “regular” on Fox News.

The focus of Walz’s speech was on how the Trump Vance ticket is for tax cuts for “billionaires and corporations,” while he and Harris plan tax cuts and credits for 100 million Americans.

Walz highlighted the plans to include in-home care through Medicare, small business tax cuts, and down payment assistance to build up middle class Americans.

On the economy, Walz said Trump’s plan is “positive taxation,” which amounts to a tax increase of $4,000 to working families, while Trump’s “billionaire friends” receive tax cuts.

Again, Walz contrasted how he and Harris have middle class roots and understand the financial struggles, while Trump and Vance lack that perspective.

Walz also touched on sensible gun legislation, gun violence at schools, and gun ownership.

“We can uphold the Second Amendment while being and adhering to our first responsibility, protecting our kids. You can do both,” Walz said. “Both members of the Democratic ticket for President and Vice President are gun owners. And the Republican nominee can't pass a background check.”

Walz drew further contrast between the two tickets on their stance for reproductive freedoms. He said that 20 states now have Trump abortion bans.

Walz said Donald Trump’s definition of freedom means the government can “invade your bedroom, invade your exam room, invade your library.”

“There is one path to making sure we stop this guy. We have to do the work, have the courage, and beat him at the ballot box,” Walz said. “This thing’s close. We’re still the underdogs in this. And we know, we're going to leave it all on the field.”

When Barack Obama took the stage, he said it was good to be back in Madison. The former president was supposed to fly to Madison, but an oil leak on the plane caused him to take a “road trip” from Chicago instead.

Obama said Tim Walz is the kind of person who should be in politics, because he’s a veteran, teacher, coach, hunter, and a great governor.

“Tim's got skills,” Obama said. “The other day, I found out he can take a vintage truck apart and put it back together again. You think Donald Trump can do that?”

“Tim will be an outstanding Vice President, but he's only gonna be an outstanding Vice President if you vote,” Obama continued.

The former president urged supporters to go vote, reminding them that “early voting starts today.” He said “I won’t be offended” if you walk out right now, go vote.

Obama told supporters he voted early. 

“I got my ballot, filled it in, sealed it, signed it, and then I walked, which I don't always get a chance to do, and the Secret Service got nervous,” Obama said. “Now let's walk to a mailbox. And my younger staff was like, what's that blue thing? And I said, "That's a mailbox.”

Obama said together Americans have a chance to choose “new generational leadership” and “start building a better, stronger, fairer, more hopeful America” by electing Kamala Harris.

Like Walz, Obama also warned supporters that the race will be a close one. He said it will be “tight here in Wisconsin” and “all across the country.”

Obama spoke about how the COVID-19 pandemic caused “price hikes” of most household goods, and that he understands why Americans might want to “shake things up.”

“What I cannot understand is why anybody would think that Donald Trump will shake things up in a way that's good for you,” he said.

Obama said Trump is a “78-year-old billionaire who hasn't stopped whining about his problems since he came down that gold escalator nine years ago.” He continued, “when he's not complaining, he's trying to sell you stuff.”

Former President Trump is selling gold sneakers, Swiss watches, and a “Trump” bible.  When Obama asked the supporters, “guess where those bibles come from,” they replied, “China.”

Some supporters “booed” the statement, but Obama said, “Don’t boo, Vote.”

“They can't hear you boo. They can hear your vote. That's the way to send a message,” Obama said. “America is ready to turn the page. We are ready for a better story. Wisconsin. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris.”

Former President Obama defended his presidency by saying he spent 8 years cleaning up a “mess that Republicans left,” and that the economy was “pretty good when Trump first came into office.”

“Because it was my economy,” he said.

“I had spent eight years getting the auto industry back on track, reopening factories. So when I handed over 75 straight months of job growth to Donald Trump, all he did was give a tax cut to people who didn't need it,” Obama said. “Drove up the deficits in the process, so don't have nostalgia for what his economy was, because that was mine, and now he wants to do it again.”

On Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act, Obama pointed out that 50 million Americans use it. In 2016, Trump campaigned to “end Obamacare.”

“When his running mate was asked about it during their debate, the guy's got the nerve to say Donald Trump salvaged the Affordable Care Act,” Obama said. “Now, come on, man, Donald Trump spent his entire presidency trying to tear it down, and he couldn't even do that right.”

Obama said elections are important, not because things will change overnight, but because elections can “make it a little better or worse.”

The former president said he noticed some men think Trump's behavior is “somehow a sign of strength.”

“I'm here to tell you that's not what real strength is. Never has been. Real strength about working hard, real strength about taking responsibility for your actions, real strength about telling the truth even when it's inconvenient,” Obama said. “Real strength is about helping people who need it and standing up for those who can't stand up for themselves. That's what we should want for our daughters and our sons. That's what I want in the President of the United States.”