Denver, CO
Tim Walz raises $3 million in Denver, capping “interesting” first week as Kamala Harris’ VP pick
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz joked about his “interesting” first week as Kamala Harris’ running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket and criticized Donald Trump’s background on Wednesday during a Denver fundraiser that collected $3 million for the campaign.
“This week has been interesting,” Walz told roughly 150 attendees in the backyard of the 33,000-square-foot Phipps Mansion, owned by Democratic megadonor Tim Gill. “That’s a Minnesota word, ‘interesting’ — so you Minnesotans know, it has multiple meanings.”
He recounted being selected by Harris last week and then soon being put on a plane to a rally in Philadelphia — where he was told: “Here, you’ve got 45 minutes to read this speech off the teleprompter.”
“Perhaps I neglected to tell you,” Walz recounted to laughs and cheers, “I’ve never used a teleprompter in my life.”
The fundraiser was part of Walz’s first solo trip since joining the Harris ticket, a three-day, five-state swing. During his 15-minute in Denver in the early afternoon, Walz praised Harris’ “politics of kindness” and joked with Gov. Jared Polis, his former congressional counterpart and baseball teammate.
He also criticized Trump, the Republican nominee, drawing a contrast between Harris’ background — both as a prosecutor and as a former McDonald’s employee — and the former president’s.
Walz said he recently asked labor leaders in California if they could see Trump making a McFlurry. He paraphrased a Harris rally line, saying the vice president had gone after “fraudsters” and “predators,” adding: “We know who that might be.”
He said there was “no safety net” when speaking in front of the large crowds that are common on a presidential campaign trail.
Polis, who’d introduced him, chimed in: “Are you saying they’re not all AI?”
That was a reference to a false claim Trump made in recent days — that the Harris campaign had used artificial intelligence to inflate crowd sizes in a picture from a recent campaign stop in Michigan.
“I assure you, in Detroit, that wasn’t AI, and I’ll also assure you that every one of the ballots they’re going to cast will not be AI,” Walz replied, to cheers.
Trump was recently in Colorado, making a stop in Aspen Saturday during a multistate Mountain West swing that he said raised $28 million. Since Harris picked Walz, Republicans have focused their attacks most heavily on aspects of his more than two decades of National Guard service, but little was said about the topic at the Denver fundraiser.
The $3 million raised for the Harris Victory Fund on Wednesday was announced by Gill. Also in attendance were former U.S. Reps. John Salazar and Ed Perlmutter, current U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and former state House Speaker Alec Garnett, now Polis’ chief of staff.
Walz spoke broadly about Democratic priorities and ideals — like supporting “common-sense gun legislation” and addressing climate change and poverty — though he provided few specific policy proposals.
Polis said he’d told Walz not to spend any campaign cash on winning Colorado, which has turned reliably blue in recent years and went for Biden by 13.5 percentage points over Trump in 2020. Polis said Harris and Walz’s presence on the ticket would be enough to support Democrats’ down-ballot efforts, meaning to preserve a state House supermajority and win a similar margin in the state Senate.
Still, Walz urged attendees to keep working in the 83 days that remained until Election Day.
“Sleep when you’re dead,” he said.
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Originally Published:
The Green Bay Packers (9-4-1) dropped from first to second in the NFC North and from the second seed to the seventh seed in the NFC after losing to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Significant injuries suffered against the Broncos will mean lasting implications are felt past Sunday. The Packers are also now a long shot to catch the Los Angeles Rams for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and it’ll take a win next Saturday night in Chicago to retake control in the NFC North.
But the Packers are still in a good spot in terms of making the postseason field, especially after the Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys all lost on Sunday.
NFC playoff picture after Week 15
- Los Angeles Rams (11-3, 6-3 vs. NFC)
- Chicago Bears (10-4, 6-3 vs. NFC)
- Philadelphia Eagles (9-5, 7-3 vs. NFC)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7, 5-5 vs. NFC)
- Seattle Seahawks (11-3, 6-3 vs. NFC)
- San Francisco 49ers (10-4, 8-2 vs. NFC)
- Green Bay Packers (9-4-1, 7-2-1 vs. NFC)
Others: Lions (8-6), Panthers (7-7), Cowboys (6-7-1)
According to The Athletic’s NFL playoff simulator, the Packers have a 92 percent chance of making the postseason with three weeks to go. They become all but guaranteed of a playoff spot if they can beat the Bears in Chicago in Week 16. In fact, just one win over the final three weeks could be enough for the Packers to get in.
The NFC North winner looks like a coinflip. The Athletic’s model gives the Packers a 48 percent chance of winning the division right now, and it would go up to 82 percent with a win over the Bears on Saturday. Chicago took down the Cleveland Browns with ease in bitter cold temps at Soldier Field on Sunday.
The Athletic’s model also gives the Packers a 98 percent chance of being the No. 2 seed if Matt LaFleur’s team can win out. That will be much easier said than done without Micah Parsons (and potentially Christian Watson) down the stretch.
Two very possibilities for the Packers: Win the NFC North and host the Bears in the NFC Wild Card Round, or get in as the No. 7 seed and go to Chicago to play the Bears in the NFC Wild Card Round. A third round of the rivalry is increasingly possible in January.
Packers remaining games
Nothing easy here. The Bears, Ravens and Vikings all won Sunday. The Bears and Ravens won comfortably; the Vikings upset the Cowboys — who desperately needed to win — in Dallas. The Bears and Ravens are both playing to win division titles. The Vikings are a dangerously talented spoiler team, and winning at U.S. Bank Stadium is never easy. The Athletic’s model gives the Packers roughly a 40 percent chance of making the postseason even with an 0-3 finish. The Lions are the biggest threat to pass the Packers in the event they finish 0-3.
It appears the Packers can clinch a playoff spot next week with a win over the Bears and a Steelers win over the Lions.
It’s time for the AFC’s #1 team to meet the NFC’s #2. Today the Denver Broncos host the Green Bay Packers in a key late-season inter-conference matchup that could have playoff seeding implications for both teams.
In Denver, the Broncos will be trying to hold on to the top spot in the AFC and keep their impressive win streak rolling. Denver has won ten straight games, some of them in fairly ridiculous fashion, but they sit at 11-2, sharing the top record in the NFL with the New England Patriots, who are just behind them in the playoff picture based on conference record.
The Packers, meanwhile, want to hold on to the lead in the NFC North before they have their rematch with the Chicago Bears next Saturday night. Green Bay sits behind only the Los Angeles Rams in the playoff race in the NFC, and they want to return to the Central time zone with that lead intact.
Join us here at Acme Packing Company to discuss today’s game, and Go Pack Go!
Houston Rockets (16-6, third in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (18-6, second in the Western Conference)
Denver; Monday, 9:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Denver hosts Houston looking to end its four-game home slide.
The Nuggets are 13-5 in conference games. Denver averages 125.5 points while outscoring opponents by 9.6 points per game.
The Rockets are 9-5 in Western Conference play. Houston is fifth in the NBA scoring 120.6 points per game while shooting 48.6%.
The Nuggets’ 13.5 made 3-pointers per game this season are only 0.8 more made shots on average than the 12.7 per game the Rockets give up. The Rockets average 120.6 points per game, 4.7 more than the 115.9 the Nuggets give up.
The teams meet for the second time this season. In the last meeting on Nov. 22 the Nuggets won 112-109 led by 34 points from Nikola Jokic, while Reed Sheppard scored 27 points for the Rockets.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jokic is averaging 29.5 points, 12.3 rebounds and 10.9 assists for the Nuggets. Hunter Tyson is averaging 2.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Alperen Sengun is averaging 23 points, 9.4 rebounds, seven assists and 1.5 steals for the Rockets. Amen Thompson is averaging 20.0 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 7-3, averaging 126.7 points, 41.4 rebounds, 30.3 assists, 5.8 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 53.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 119.8 points per game.
Rockets: 7-3, averaging 115.7 points, 47.2 rebounds, 24.8 assists, 9.3 steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 48.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.0 points.
INJURIES: Nuggets: Christian Braun: out (ankle), Aaron Gordon: out (hamstring), Julian Strawther: day to day (back).
Rockets: Fred VanVleet: out for season (acl), Dorian Finney-Smith: out (ankle), Tari Eason: out (oblique).
——
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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