WASHINGTON – Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance plans on Wednesday to visit a Wisconsin company that manufactures airport equipment in Eau Claire – on the same day that Democrat presidential nominee is in town for a major rally. Vance will be at Wollard International, which employs 60 people in northwest Eau Claire. It’s a media event at 1 p.m. but not a large-scale rally. Vance, a freshman senator from Ohio, is shadowing Harris all week with stops in Philadelphia, Eau Claire, Detroit and Raleigh. The tactical wisdom of such “bracketing” is debatable, but it can diffuse news coverage of an opponent. The question among political experts is whether bracketing is a wise use of campaign resources. Even so, Eau Claire is a geographical double-whammy in current presidential politics — only 60 miles from the battleground state of Minnesota and the voter-rich Twin Cities metropolitan area — and also within the battleground state of Wisconsin. The Eau Claire plan for Vance, besides speaking at Wollard, is to be available for a news interview. Vance has emerged as a Trump campaign policy attack dog to define Harris as outside the American mainstream. In Eau Claire he is expected to go after Harris on immigration, crime and the economy.
Earlier: Where will Harris’ rally in Eau Claire be? Dunno
Wollard profile
Wollard International manufacturers aviation ground support equipment like baggage belt loaders, mobile passenger stairs, maintenance lifts, and tow tractors. It was founded in the 1950s and was bought in 2019 by the equity investment company Kilroy Partners. Kilroy is led by GOP donor Robert Priddy. In confirming the Vance visit, Wollard issued a statement: “We are pleased to be hosting U.S. Senator JD Vance at our Eau Claire facility to highlight the strength and quality of U.S. equipment manufacturing.”