LANCASTER, Pa. — Gov. Tim Walz's arrival Wednesday morning in rural Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the 10th most populous city in a key battleground state, drew mixed reactions from local residents.
The county has voted Republican since 2012, but Walz's arrival was widely welcomed by supporters and opponents of the candidate he represents.
For example, Carolyn Haynes, a former sociology professor at Lebanon Valley College, was ecstatic about Walz's arrival and the possibility of voting for the Democratic candidate.
“I'm really excited about David Harris and David Waltz. I think they're great candidates,” said Haines, 76. “I can't wait to say, 'Mr. President,' I think they're both great candidates.”
When asked which of Harris' policies stood out to her, she said, “New opportunity. Her economic policies, she cares about everybody. And of course, reproductive rights is an important issue. I think she's a strong leader. I think she believes in upholding the law for everybody.”
But in the face of a growing immigrant population, not everyone in Lancaster County is optimistic about Harris or the policies of her current administration.
John F. McCarthy IV, an Amish driver and self-described “volunteer anti-propaganda activist,” stood outside the venue to greet Walz, wearing a red MAGA-style “Secure the Borders” hat.
McCarthy scoffed at the idea that Walz's rural Minnesota background makes him “relatable” to Lancaster County voters.
“I don't believe that. Nearly every Amish person I've spoken to who says they're going to vote will vote for Trump,” he told The Post.
“I've worked primarily with the Old Order Amish,” he continued, “traditionally they don't vote in elections, but they're very concerned about what's going on in the country. Crime has spread from the city of Lancaster into rural areas.”
But Douglas Wickenheiser, 67, a former pipeline contractor, offered a different view of Walz's record.
“I didn't know much about him until about a month ago, but he seems like a decent guy, a caring guy, and someone who sees the future,” he told the Post. “He helps kids with school programs, lunches and breakfasts. He's a folksy, middle-class guy, and he supports unions, and we need unions to come back to power.”
Lancaster County Democratic Chairman Thomas G. O'Brien, who attended an event with Walz on Wednesday morning, had expected Harris to nominate Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her second pick but has since come out in favor of Walz.
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“My initial reaction is I'm disappointed, because I thought if Shapiro won, it would make things a little easier for us,” he said, referring to the Democrat's win of his home state and its crucial 19 electoral votes.
The party chairman told the Post that after seeing Walz on the campaign trail and at the Democratic National Convention, “he’s [Harris] Right now.”
“He's the kind of guy you could have a beer with. He's a family man,” O'Brien continued.
Former office manager Joan Worth, 83, who attended Lancaster campaign rallies for presidents John F. Kennedy and George H.W. Bush decades ago, said she came to check out Harris' running mate.
Worth said he plans to vote for the Democratic candidate because “they're standing up for our democracy” and because they will be “fair to the people, all the people.”
From a historical perspective, Lancaster classmate James McTeigue, 75, called Waltz's visit “the biggest excitement Lancaster has had since James Buchanan,” the 19th-century local congressman who preceded Abraham Lincoln as president.
Buchanan was the only Pennsylvanian elected to the highest office in American history — until Scranton Joe took office in 2020.
