By Mia McCarthy and Meredith Lee Hill
Tim Walz and JD Vance are holding rival rallies in Arizona on Wednesday as the state kicks off early voting and the campaigns push to reach voters in the key battleground.
Both candidates and their running mates are campaigning in Arizona, a state that President Joe Biden won in 2020 but former President Donald Trump took in 2016 in the tight race. The vice presidential candidates’ visits will be followed by stops in the state later in the week by Vice President Kamala Harris, who will be in Phoenix on Friday, and Trump, who will hold a rally in Prescott Valley on Sunday.
It will be the closest the two men have been on the campaign trail since their debate last week, where the two met face-to-face for the first time.
Recent polling shows Trump has a slight lead in the Sun Belt, and a new AARP poll has Trump leading Harris by 2 points, even as down-ballot Democrats are doing well. Vance said last week he will prioritize visiting Rust Belt states due to their confidence in Sun Belt states. The last time Vance held a rally in Arizona was over a month ago.
“We feel very good about the Sun Belt,” Vance said in a recent interview with the Ruthless Podcast. “I think the Rust Belt, we have a lot more work to do.”
Walz is campaigning in Arizona with some big names from the state, including the son of the late Republican Sen. John McCain, Jim McCain, who recently endorsed Harris. The Minnesota governor will also hold campaign events with Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for Senate, and Stephen Roe Lewis, governor of the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona.
