VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was greeted by drenched but enthusiastic University of Michigan students Saturday when he arrived at Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti for a day of campaigning for the Democratic campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris.
The students, some playing brass U-M band instruments, gathered on the tarmac in front of a school bus wrapped in a banner reading: “Put me in, coach.” Many tried to cover themselves in plastic wrap as cold rain began shortly before Walz’s arrival and continued after he left the plane. Walz moved along the line of students, laughing and posing for photos, but made no public reports at the airport.
Michigan is a key battleground state as polls show a close election both within Michigan and nationally.
Walz, a former congressman, has been governor of Minnesota since 2019. The military veteran and former high school teacher and assistant football coach plans to attend Saturday’s NCAA football game in Ann Arbor between the 12th-ranked U-M Wolverines and the Minnesota Golden Gophers .