EAU CLAIRE – Two presidential campaigns. One city. One afternoon.
Sen. JD Vance, along with Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Gov. Tim Walz, were scheduled to converge in Eau Claire on Wednesday.
“We’re happy people are coming and putting the city of Eau Claire in the national spotlight,” city manager Stephanie Hirsch told WTMJ’s Wis. Morning News on Wednesday.
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Both campaign stops were expected to take place in the 1pm hour.
“It’s a complicated logistical challenge,” Hirsch explained. “It’s both interesting and stressful to manage, but we have one of the best police departments in the country and they’re on top of it.”
Eau Claire is not new to presidential campaign stops. The city has often played host to candidate visits.
“We know Wisconsin is a swing state,” city council president Emily Berge told WTMJ. “I’ve heard people say ‘The Road to the White House goes through Eau Claire’ because it can go either way.”
With both campaign events scheduled to take place around the same time, was there a chance the candidates would see each other at the airport?
” I don’t know if there will be any awkward (moments) in the hallway,” Berge laughed. “We only have one airport. It’s not very big.”
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