Gwen Walz: Georgia, you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders

ALBANY – With just five days left until general election day, Gwen Walz, the wife of Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz, made a stop in Albany to rally behind Kamala Harris and encourage Albanians to spread the vote.

City and county leaders, current and former educators, and canvassers filled a room at the local Democratic campaign headquarters in a spirited rally. They wore Converse shoes and shirts and pins with slogans like “regulate guns not women,” and “yes she can.” The conversation placed a special focus on high-stakes election issues like public education and social justice.

Walz acknowledged the pressure on Georgia this election as one of seven “swing states.” In 2020, the state flipped blue for President Biden for the first time in decades.

“I know here in Georgia you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, but I want you to know this … Kamala and Doug and Tim and me, too, we are right here with you,” she said. “We are all in this together.”

Georgia shattered early voting records for this election. Voter turnout has surpassed the 3.2 million mark. Early voting’s last day in Georgia was Friday.

Walz said there is still a lot of work to be done to bring the election “home.” She encouraged attendees to vote early on the last day, to canvas and to help everyone in their lives make a plan to vote.

“I was a teacher; so let me tell you this – this election is the ultimate group project,” she said. “It’s pass/fail. It is crunch time, Georgia. We have come too far, and we have worked too hard to stop now.”

With a host of school professionals in the room, Dougherty County District 3 Commissioner Clinton Johnson talked about the importance of a Harris win when it comes to public school education.

“Public school education is the backbone of America, and children of every race, background and zip code deserve to have a quality education,” he said. “Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz believe in investing in our children across the country with an education that prepares them for our future, and they have a record to prove it.”

Johnson noted that under the Biden administration, the American Rescue Plan Act invested more than $4 billion in Georgia public schools and higher teacher pay. He pointed to Minnesota Gov. Walz signing legislation for universal free meals for public school students. Johnson contrasted these achievements with proposed public education budget cuts in the Project 2025 agenda, which is a policy layout for the next Republican president that dozens of former Trump administration officials contributed to.

Both Walzes have worked as public school teachers.

“We need people like Gov. Walz and Mrs. Walz in the White House who understands the public school experience,” Johnson said.

Diana Brown, an Albany voter and founder of Ossie’s Fair Housing and Homecare Inc, a housing advocacy group, said the Walz’s public education background and vocal support for their son with special needs make her feel hope for potential policies benefiting youths in Albany during a Harris presidency.

“It’s the love they give to the children that impacts the community,” Brown said. “It warms my heart.”

Brown has been going around with her organization to knock on doors and encourage people to vote. She said her top issues for this election are housing and tenants’ rights, support for the U.S. military, increased teacher and bus driver pay, and abortion rights.

She said she believes Harris is the right choice to bring policies that will help these issues. In Harris and Walz, she said she sees transparency, collaboration, love and passion.

“I’m excited,” Brown said. “I’m overjoyed. The reason why I vote, it’s political but it’s also personal. It’s about the things and people I love.”

Gwen Walz said the Harris campaign has brought her all around the country – mostly to swing states like Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. On Thursday, she made stops in Macon, Albany and Valdosta.

“Everywhere I go, people are fed up with Donald Trump,” she said. “But more than that, people are fired up for a new way forward.”

Walz said her husband and Harris have real plans – not just “concepts of a plan” – for tax cuts, lowering the costs of groceries and health care as well as helping more Americans become homeowners. She said Harris and Walz will build an opportunity economy, where everyone has a chance to succeed.

“We mean everyone. Every single one of us … deserves to live safely … to live with dignity … opportunity … freedom,” Walz said. “That is the promise of America, and that is what we are fighting for. It is now the fight of our lives.”

Walz wrapped up her Albany visit by taking photos with voters, sharing homemade ginger snaps that she made using her grandmother’s recipe and handing out canvassing supplies to those who signed up to knock on doors in the last days before the election.

Election day is Nov. 5. Georgians can find their polling place, sample ballots and other voting information at https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/.

Staff Photo Lucille Lannigan
[email protected]
Staff Photo Lucille Lannigan
[email protected]

Staff Photo Lucille Lannigan
[email protected]

Staff Photo Lucille Lannigan
[email protected]