HENDERSON (KTNV) — With just nine days before the 2024 election, Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz barnstormed his way across the valley Sunday, from rallies to watch parties.
He started the day on Water Street in Henderson for a rally about abortion rights, denouncing abortion bans that have sprung up in states after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 2022.
"I'll be damned if I'll have them [Republican nominees former President Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance] make these health care decisions for you," Walz told the crowd in brief remarks.
Walz later spoke with Channel 13, and we asked him about issues raised by voters who participated in a series of diverse voter panels over the last two months.
WATCH: Full interview with Gov. Tim Walz
Abortion rights
Abortion rights were cited by panelists on nearly every panel we convened, from young people to seniors. The issue gained new salience in the wake of the court's ruling, which led directly to November's Question 6, which would start the process of amending the state constitution to enshrine abortion rights.
Democrats have pledged to try to restore Roe v. Wade by passing legislation through Congress. However, that would require their party to control both houses and navigate the legislative filibuster in the Senate.
But Walz said the election might change things.
"I think that the odds are pretty good because after this, we're going to win this election, and you're going to see candidates that took a stand against women [having] bodily autonomy and [making] their own decisions are going to lose," Walz said.
"So you're going to have a Congress that's going to be made up, even Republicans, are going to realize this is what they need to do. Simply establishing the right of Roe versus Wade should be a pretty simple lift for them."
Karoline Leavitt, Trump's national press secretary, said in a statement that Trump would not support a federal ban on abortion:
"President Trump has long been consistent in supporting the rights of states to make decisions on abortion and has been very clear that he will NOT sign a federal ban when he is back in the White House," the statement reads. "President Trump also supports universal access to contraception and IVF. Contrarily, Kamala Harris and the Democrats are radically out of touch with the majority of Americans in their support for abortion up until birth and forcing taxpayers to fund it."
Tax credits
Walz also addressed the costs of a package of tax credits and new spending advanced by Vice President Kamala Harris aimed at middle-class families. Economists have debated the impact of those plans. Still, conservative groups such as the Tax Foundation and deficit hawks such as the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget claim the Harris-Walz plan would increase budget deficits.
Walz — who, as a member of Congress, expressed support for provisions that would offset new spending so as not to increase the deficit and debt — said Trump's plans would make deficits even worse, citing spending during Trump's four years in office. He said some of Harris's proposals would actually boost the economy, such as expanding the existing childcare tax credit and adding one for newborns, which would get more workers into the economy.
"You hear it, I'm sure, even here in Las Vegas, finding workers is a challenge at times," Walz said. "And one of the reasons is folks can't find a daycare that's affordable to them. And I think that's the way we do it, and we simply ask folks to pay their fair share. We're very clear: 100 million Americans, middle-class folks, will see a tax cut under this."
Gun violence
Panelists on the young voter's panel, in particular, discussed gun violence, especially in the wake of the December shooting on the UNLV campus. We asked Walz whether it was realistic to expect Congress to pass another ban on semi-automatic rifles, similar to the one included in the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Despite a series of court rulings affirming individual rights to own firearms, Walz said a ban is still possible.
"I think it's very realistic because you're hearing it: People are asking us to do something. They want their children to go to school and not be shot dead," he said. "And that's why I think this fever is breaking around this idea that we can't do something about it."
Clean energy
Under Walz's leadership, Minnesota adopted an aggressive clean energy plan that requires the state to get all of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2040, a more aggressive plan than Nevada's, which requires 50 percent clean energy by 2030.
We asked if that includes nuclear power, which is more reliable than some other renewable sources but controversial because of the potential for accidents and the thorny issue of what to do with nuclear waste. Although Yucca Mountain, north of Las Vegas, has been designated as the national repository for high-level nuclear waste, Democrats have defunded the project and are seeking alternatives to burying waste at Yucca.
But Walz said despite the waste issue, nuclear should be part of the nation's energy portfolio.
"I know the vice president and I talk about an 'all of the above' [strategy]," Walz said. "I know one of the issues, and I know this is a hot topic here in Nevada, the storage issue. And how do we store the waste? But I do think it's part of it. I think we're going to have an aggressive approach."
Walz's home state of Minnesota has two nuclear generating stations and struggling to deal with the waste generated there.
RELATED STORY | Why so many locals are opting for early voting
But home-state politics gave way to swing-state politics when we asked Walz who he'd be cheering for in Sunday's matchup of the Kansas City Chiefs — who play home games in reliably red Missouri — or the Las Vegas Raiders, who make their home in purple Nevada.
"Yeah, they tell me not to pick on this, but I like the Raiders, I'm just going to say," he said. "They say stay neutral when you're in this; I think that's a little weak. I like the Raiders, I like what they're doing, I like how this city's embraced them, it's pretty exciting."
The Raiders lost that matchup Sunday, 27-20.
In addition to the abortion-rights event, Walz spoke at a Native Americans for Harris-Walz rally and stopped by a football game watch party before heading home to Minnesota.
This week, both Trump and Harris are expected in town as the candidates fight for every vote. As of Sunday, Republicans led Democrats by 31,218 mail and early votes statewide. Overall turnout stands at 30.9 percent.
If you have a question about politics, elections or government, or you have seen an ad you'd like us to check, you can Ask Steve at ktnv.com/asksteve. He will endeavor to answer your questions on air or online.
