With less than a month left until the Nov. 5 election, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told political donors in Sacramento at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mansion on Tuesday that he would concede to former President Trump for the second time. He said there would be a chance.
“Look, we’re going to win this, and he’ll say we didn’t win, but we’re going to win,” Democratic vice presidential candidate Walz said while campaigning, poolside among oak trees. said on the patio. The fundraiser takes place on Newsome’s nearly 7-acre property outside of Sacramento.
“I have to say, I’m going to be very happy that this is turning the page on Donald Trump once and for all. I don’t care if people call me narrow-minded for participating in that. But I intend to remain narrow-minded.”
Newsom praised Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision to nominate him as his running mate after President Biden suspended his re-election campaign and secured support for her to become the Democratic presidential nominee.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better option,” Newsom said. “When I met with Governor Walz, there was no doubt in my mind that she would see him not just as a situational partner in relation to this campaign, but as a sustainable partner, a governing partner. .”
Walz’s visit will be his second to California in three days as he looks to court the state’s wealthy donors on the Democratic ticket in the final weeks of the presidential campaign.
Tickets for the event, co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui and Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, started at $3,300, with organizers reaching a maximum of $100,000.
The guest list for the gathering at Newsom’s 12,000-square-foot home included Kounalakis’ father, developer Angelo Tsakopoulos. Chris Larsen, billionaire technology investor and co-founder of Ripple. Vivec Ranadivé, co-owner and chairman of the Sacramento Kings.
Walz also attended big-ticket events in Santa Barbara and San Diego on Sunday before heading to Seattle. Walz spent a few hours in Sacramento before leaving for Reno, Nevada, a closely divided state, in the late afternoon.
California is solidly Democratic, but the state is a top contender for both sides in the 2024 election.
Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance attends a fundraiser in Woodside Wednesday night. Former President Trump is also scheduled to visit California this weekend, with a rally scheduled for Saturday in the Coachella Valley.
California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Milan Patterson criticized Newsom and Walz in a statement regarding the campaign suspension.
“Today, Tim Walz will trade one failed California Democrat for another in a campaign fundraiser in Sacramento hosted by Gavin Newsom,” Millan said in a statement. said. “The more time Walz spends with radical Democrats in California, the further Kamala Harris and his already radical policy moves will drift away from the American people.”
Mr. Newsom, a strong supporter of Mr. Biden, campaigned for Ms. Harris and Ms. Walz in Pennsylvania and headlined a fundraiser for the Democratic candidate in New York last month. The governor attended the debate between Harris and Trump in September and praised Harris’ performance in a post-election interview.
Walz on Tuesday praised Newsom’s work in helping expand Democratic support in other states.
“There is no clearer, more joyful fighter for messaging and policy across this country than Gavin Newsom,” he told the audience.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and U.S. Rep. Ami Berra have joined the party, along with California Medical Association lobbyist Darius Anderson. CEO Dustin Corcoran, the governor’s friend and lobbyist Jason Kinney, and dozens of other guests.
The Newsoms bought a six-bedroom home in Fair Oaks, about 25 miles from the state Capitol, for $3.7 million before taking office in 2019. Newsom currently splits his time between his Fair Oaks mansion and his home in Marin County, just north of San Francisco.
