TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN — Lee Ziesche is the communications coordinator for the Tucson Democratic Socialists of America. She said she prefers the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris’ vice presidential pick Tim Walz compared to Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who was also being considered.
Lee said Walz is a centrist like Kelly but she feels like he really supports more progressive policies than Kelly.
“Walz is able to ground this campaign in working class issues,” Ziesche said.
Some of those issues Ziesche said Walz has support for, includes unions, education, and abortion.
“These are popular policies all across the country, so of all the people there were to choose from, I definitely think he’s the best,” she said.
Ziesche also fells like Walz’s experience is beneficial to the Harris campaign.
“He was a teacher, and a football coach. He really seems like he wants to improve the lives of working class people,” she said.
However, to get the younger and uncommitted votes, Ziesche said Walz and Harris need to do more to support a ceasefire in Gaza and an embargo on arms to Israel.
“They have not earned the vote of the uncommitted people in this country,” she said.
When asked about Walz, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee criticized his opponent, saying he let people burn down places in Minneapolis during the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020.
Ziesche said the far-left, which she identifies with, actually agrees with what she calls the far-right in terms of Walz’s response to the riots that resulted in burned buildings in Minnesota.
However, she believes Walz didn’t take the right actions during the riots, saying he took too much action by bringing in too much law enforcement.
Dave Smith, the chairman of the Pima County Republican Party, also agrees that Walz mishandled the riots in 2020, saying he performed poorly when handling the national guard that assisted in getting the riots under control.
Smith said Walz is further left than Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Even after the assassination attempt on President Trump, he’s still saying aggravating and agitating name calling against the Republicans,” he said.
With Walz on the Democratic ticket, Smith said the Democratic Party is abandoning moderate independents.
“You couldn’t choose a person more likely to unify the Republican Party. This guy is so far left,” he said.
Smith feels like Vance is more appealing to the working class.
“He represents the working-class success. He’s articulate, intelligent,” Smith said.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
