Vice Presidential Nominee Tim Walz hosts rally in Bethlehem

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz took the stage in the gymnasium of Freedom High School yesterday, greeted by over a thousand blue signs displaying the word Freedom as the crowd chanted “We are not going back.” 

Gov. Walz joined the democratic ticket for the 2024 presidential election alongside Vice President Kamala Harris in August 2024. Since then, he’s been on the Harris-Walz campaign trail encouraging people to get out and vote on Nov. 5. 

Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds addressed the crowd and was followed by Liza Colón-Zayas and Anthony Ramos who spoke about voting in the Hispanic community. 

Gov. Walz discussed topics related to Pennsylvania’s battleground landscape including the working middle class, gun violence, the Affordable Care Act, reproductive rights and the $50,000 small business tax reduction.

“So when we need education, we need to take it to the middle class,” Walz said.

Bethlehem residents Rayah and Sol Levy attended the rally in support of Harris and Gov. Walz. 

Rayah Levy said she’s a member of the Pennsylvania Public Education Champions and she and her husband are both educators.

Gov. Walz is a former teacher, and Levy said community service is important to education. 

“Education is on the chopping block this year, and we don’t want people who are against public schools,” she said. “So, that’s why I’m here — to represent public education.”

Students and family gathered for Gov. Tim Walz’s rally in the gymnasium of Freedom High School. The crowd held up signs and chanted “We’re not going back.” (Liana Secondino/B&W Staff)

Juanita Stuenkel, ‘28, said she attended the rally because she wanted to be a part of the excitement and hopes Harris wins on Nov. 5. 

“It should be more normalized for young people to care about politics,” Stuenkel said. “Obviously it’s really important because this is our future and the rest of our lives are going to be determined by this election.” 

Stuenkel said one of the topics Gov. Walz talked about that’s particularly important to her is protecting reproductive rights and healthcare. 

Walz spoke about the troubles he and his wife experienced when having children due to infertility and sought out fertility treatments to have the chance of starting a family. 

“Make no mistake, (Republicans are) not stopping at abortion access,” Walz said. “They don’t care about the story of another woman who had to travel from Georgia to North Carolina and then couldn’t get the treatment at home (and) ended up dying.”

Baylee Baker, ‘28, said gun control is an important issue at stake in this election, and she recently lost her brother to gun violence. 

“These laws affect real people and real families,” Baker said. “I feel like it’s important to share my experience in certain settings because it can make people more empathetic toward why we need these gun laws.” 

Walz brought up the police escort for kindergarten children in Ohio following a series of bomb threats and said the Republican party isn’t being truthful when speaking on safety.

“I do kind of see why Donald Trump’s not telling the truth,” Walz said. “Because if he tells the truth, he doesn’t get a damn vote. Not what’s good for America, not what’s good for our security. They don’t want to tell the truth.”

Allentown resident Marina Bascom said living in a swing state is something people don’t recognize until the election progresses.

She said she thinks it’s important to have a sense of politics — especially in battleground states. 

“We’re right here,” Bascom said. “Our voice matters.”