AZ Small Business for Harris-Walz hosts Amy Klobuchar
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) speaks throughout an Arizona Small Business for Harris-Walz occasion on Oct. 4, 2024, at Orchard Tavern in Phoenix.
Vice President Kamala Harris can unify the nation in a approach that’s helpful to companies, Sen. Amy Klobuchar mentioned Friday throughout a campaign go to to Phoenix.
“The economy is really picking up in a positive way here,” Klobuchar, D-Minn., mentioned. “This is a real moment for Arizona, and it's not just politically. It's also economically, and you want to move forward and not backwards.”
Klobuchar was in the state to advertise Harris, her former Senate colleague and presidential major rival, at a campaign occasion on Friday afternoon. She contrasted the Democratic nominee with former President Donald Trump, saying he’ll carry the type of “chaos” and division that hurts the financial system if he’s reelected.
“The last thing we want is to go back into our silos,” Klobuchar mentioned. “People are finally coming together again, and that is good for business.”
Harris and former President Donald Trump are locked in a margin-of-error battle for the White House in Arizona, the newest public polls present. To bridge the hole, Harris has been reaching out to Republicans and independents to affix her campaign. Promoting financial coverage to enterprise homeowners is one other a part of that mission, Klobuchar mentioned.
“She just did an event with Liz Cheney yesterday. The next thing you know, they're going to be driving together in the middle of Arizona with a ‘brat fall’ sign,” Klobuchar mentioned, pointing to Harris’ “Country Over Party” occasion Thursday with the former Republican member of Congress from Wyoming.
Klobuchar appeared in Phoenix with Jenny Poon, the founder and CEO of coworking and entrepreneur middle CO+HOOTS, Cognite CEO Girish Rishi and Brick Road Coffee proprietor Gabe Hagen. The occasion was at Orchard Tavern, 7100 N. twelfth St.
During her remarks, Poon shared the story of beginning her enterprise, which relies in Phoenix. Poon didn’t comprehend it at the starting, she mentioned, however understands now that the price of beginning a small enterprise might be round $40,000.
“If I'd known that number, I don't think I would have ever started. And I think when I look back at it, it's been more than $40,000 to get things off the ground. But Vice President Harris knows that that's not enough to account for all the costs associated with starting a business, and she knows that number doesn't account for everything that we give back into our community,” Poon mentioned. “That's why she's multiplying that support by 10, by giving small businesses a $50,000 tax credit.”
The Harris campaign is sending at the least a half-dozen surrogates to Arizona this week to advertise her campaign. Early voting begins Oct. 9, and there’s solely a month till Election Day on Nov. 5.
The relationship between Harris and Walz, Klobuchar’s home-state governor, is in stark distinction to Trump and working mate JD Vance, Klobuchar instructed the crowd.
“On one side you've got Kamala Harris electrifying crowds,” Klobuchar mentioned. “On the other side, you’ve got those two, Trump and Vance, who already look like they need couple’s counseling.”
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Klobuchar additionally praised Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., the Democratic nominee for the Senate, and instructed the story of flying to Sedona in a aircraft piloted by Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. After she boarded, Kelly instructed her that she was the first civilian he'd had in his aircraft, apart from his astronaut brother.
“It turns out he had offered this to many senators and no one had said yes,” Klobuchar mentioned, to laughter. The touchdown was “very smooth,” she famous.
In an interview after her remarks, Klobuchar acknowledged the turmoil Arizona confronted in the wake of the 2020 election. Trump and his allies contested the outcomes of the election and pressured officers right here to overturn them, and a felony case towards the faux Trump electors is ongoing.
Despite the election chaos, Arizonans ought to carry on in the custom of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Klobuchar mentioned.
“There's a lot of focus on what's happening with the electors and all that, but I don't want us to lose in that, this sense of sunny Arizona optimism and going forward,” Klobuchar mentioned. “For me, the way John McCain, who was one of my best friends in the Senate, I miss every day. He would have this kind of, no matter how bad things were, he would always find something to smile about or to be positive about.”
Lisa Malachowsky, the co-chair of LGBTQ Democrats of Maricopa County, attended Klobuchar’s occasion. She’s a longtime fan of the Minnesota Democrat and lives in Phoenix. She owns the boutique journey enterprise Dive N Ride Adventures.
“As a part of the LGBTQ community, this election is really a turning point. My life is on the line. My livelihood is on the line. So it is imperative for me to do everything I can to mobilize the vote,” Malachowsky mentioned.
