Minnesota governor and presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz will make his first solo appearance as VP Kamala Harris’ running mate Tuesday at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees International Convention at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Walz is also set to speak later Tuesday at a fundraising reception in Newport Beach, with ticket prices range from $1,000 to $100,000, according to the invitation.
Attorney Wylie Aitken, a major fundraiser for Democrats in Orange County who is one of the event’s co-hosts, said he has been “blown away by the enthusiasm” for Walz’s appearance in Newport Beach.
“I’ve never had an event, frankly, where there is so much enthusiasm, to the extent where we’ve sold out and we’re telling people we can’t help them,” Aitken told City News Service. “I’ve never seen us turn away so much money. … It’s a measure of the enthusiasm for Kamala and her vice president.”
Aitken said former President Barack Obama’s visit to Newport Beach when he was running for president in 2008 generated a great deal of enthusiasm as well, but in that case there was much more time to plan for it. The quick turnaround of this campaign lends the event a different level of enthusiasm, he said.
Meanwhile, Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill wrote on social media, “As the Mayor of Newport Beach, a City with a 7-0 Republican City Council, I welcome Governor Walz to spend time with our City leadership while he’s dipping into some of our residents’ pockets.
“We will showcase a city that didn’t defund the police, that embraces conservative economic values, that decreases debt and increases quality of life, that did not allow protestors to burn out local businesses, and that cares about human flourishing.
“If Governor Walz is as interested in learning policy from a well-run city as he is in political donations, my door will be open.”
The Newport Beach fundraiser is the first of a series of five fundraisers in five states in three days for Walz. He is also set to speak at fundraisers Wednesday in Denver and Boston, and Thursday in Newport, Rhode Island, and Southampton, New York.