Why did Gov. Tim Walz stop in Superior, Wisconsin, for a campaign rally?

Looking for a momentum bounce from Vice President Kamala Harris's Tuesday debate performance, her vice-presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, rallied supporters in far northern Wisconsin on Saturday.

Saturday's rally was part of the Harris-Walz campaign's "New Way Forward" tour of battleground states. Walz's event in Superior followed campaign stops he made in recent days in Wausau and in Michigan. Harris will return to Wisconsin on Friday as part of a swing through "blue wall" battleground states.

Superior-Duluth a stronghold Democrats hope to regain

Walz's trip to the state's northwestern corner is not the first of the Democratic presidential campaign this cycle.

In January, President Joe Biden — then the party's presumptive nominee seeking a second term in the White House — visited Superior in a bid to regain the key Democratic stronghold that sits across Lake Superior's St. Louis Bay from Duluth, Minn. The two blue cities known as the Twin Ports are surrounded by communities that have increasingly leaned toward Trump as heavy industry and mining jobs disappeared.

At that January visit, Biden announced new funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to replace the 60-year-old Blatnik Bridge connecting the two cities. He said the project was expected to create 10,000 jobs, a critical message in the region, an expert previously told the Journal Sentinel.

"Donald Trump talked a tough game on infrastructure, Kamala Harris got it done," Walz said Saturday referencing the bridge.

The Marquette Law School poll showed Trump leading Harris on the economy, the No. 1 issue, though she has gained ground compared to when Biden was in the race.

On Saturday, Walz framed Trump as someone born into wealth with no concept of the challenges faced by the working class while he said Harris grew up in the middle class.

Harris-Walz has 48 campaign offices in 43 Wisconsin counties

The Harris-Walz campaign has opened offices in 43 Wisconsin counties to support its volunteer efforts.

Those include Marathon, Wood, Portage, Waupaca, Shawano, Douglas, and Ashland counties.

The campaign has said it has more than 200 full time staffers in the state, including in Wausau in central Wisconsin and Superior in the state's far northwest corner.

Superior shares a media market with Duluth.

Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why did Tim Walz visit Superior, Wisconsin for campaign stop?