SACRAMENTO BEE: DEMOCRATIC VP NOMINEE TIM WALZ STOPS IN SACRAMENTO FOR FUNDRAISER WITH GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz briefly swung through Sacramento Tuesday afternoon for a fundraiser hosted by Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom.

Walz and his daughter Hope deplaned at Sacramento International Airport just after 12:30 p.m.

The Minnesota governor and running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris was greeted on the tarmac by elected officials including Rep. Doris Matsui, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, their spouses, state Treasurer Fiona Ma and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg.

Walz did not take questions or speak to reporters before heading to a fundraiser at Newsom’s private residence in Fair Oaks.

Walz and Newsom got to know each other through their work with the Democratic Governors Association in recent years and have fundraised together before.

At the event, Newsom introduced Walz, though reporters were barred from hearing his remarks.

“We don’t have a more articulate and joyful warrior in messaging and policy across this country than Gavin Newsom,” Walz said during the reception, which was attended by about 60 people.

He joked California tends to be treated like an ATM or bank for political candidates seeking cash. Walz said the state “has set the standard on so many things” including worker and immigrant rights and environmental policy.

“And Governor Newsom finds a way to help across the country. For all that California contributes to this country in so many ways, you can add another feather to the cap” if Harris is elected the first woman president, Walz said.

The Minnesota governor spoke about revelations in a forthcoming book by journalist Bob Woodward that former President Donald Trump sent Covid-19 test kits to Russian president Vladimir Putin for personal use in 2020.

“As a governor, it boils my blood,” Walz said of Trump “giving things to Vladimir Putin that we couldn’t get for our own people.”

“All of these things are disqualifying,” he said.

Walz spent about an hour and a half at the fundraiser before heading back to the airport to travel to Reno, according to pool reports.

The Sacramento stop is part of a larger fundraising swing for Walz through California and the western U.S.

The VP pick was in Seattle Tuesday morning and spent the weekend stopping through San Diego, Santa Barbara, Montecito and Los Angeles.

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