Tim Walz wades into Republican districts in Northeast Ohio for town halls

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is coming to Northeast Ohio next week to fill what Democrats say is a void left by Republicans who won’t face angry constituents.

Walz, who ran on Democrat Kamala Harris’ ticket as a vice-presidential candidate, will hold a “people’s town hall” in Youngstown on Monday, in a congressional district held by GOP U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli. The next night, he’ll do another in Lorain in a district held by U.S. Rep. Bob Latta, also a Republican.

Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer said it’s an effort to bring attention to members of congress who won’t face constituents after a flurry of new tariffs, a scrambled international order, stock market plunges, tens of thousands of federal workers laid off and more in the frantic first months of President Donald Trump’s administration. Walz has been visiting Republican congressional districts across the U.S.

“This is our chance to say, if your member of congress won’t show up when you’re hurting, Democrats are going to show up, Seewer said.

Ohio’s congressional delegates haven’t held any in-person town halls, though Reps. Max Miller, Dave Joyce and Mike Carey have held telephonic or “virtual” events.

Both Walz’ events are alike in they’ll occur in counties where Democrats would once, but no longer, thrive. Before 2020, Lorain County voted for all Democratic presidential candidates since Ronald Reagan in 1984. Mahoning County hadn’t gone for a Democrat since Richard Nixon in 1972. But Trump won both counties decisively in both 2020 and 2024 (with Walz on the ballot), a showing of eroding Democratic support in the Rust Belt.

Rulli has taken on a high profile role for the administration in Congress, introducing legislation to carry out Trump’s executive order to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.

The event in Lorain already has reached capacity, but one in Youngstown still had limited tickets available as of Friday afternoon.

Alongside the political rallies, Walz will be in Columbus as a keynote speaker at a conference hosted by the Network for Public Education.

Jake Zuckerman covers state politics and policy for Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.