Tim Walz’s wife, Gwen, made a campaign stop Tuesday night at legendary West Hollywood LGBTQ bar The Abbey.
“Tim and I are used to being at dance parties, but usually we’re chaperoning,” Minnesota’s first lady quipped when she first walked on stage.
The event, officially billed as “A Dance Party for Kamala with Mrs. Gwen Walz,” raised more than $100,000 for the Harris-Walz campaign, according to event co-chair Todd Hawkins.
“As you’ve heard, we have one week until Election Day and that seems very hard to believe” Walz said. “I can see a little anxiety in your eyes but know this — I would rather be us than them.”
Chairs of the event included Jesse Tyler Ferguson and his political consultant husband Justin Mikita Abbey owner Tristan Schukraft, former U.S. ambassador to Spain and Andorra James Costos, human rights advocate Kimberly Mareau Emerson, Lance Bass and Michael Turchin, Niecy Nash Betts and Jessica Betts, Jordan Brown, producer Danny Rose, Rembrandt Flores and fashion personality and journalist Joe Zee.
Walz joked about her non-stop campaign schedule: “This is my fourth state this week — is it Tuesday? Yeah, it’s Tuesday.”
She later said, “For nine long years, we’ve all been suffering through that Trump show, sowing chaos and division, lying right to our faces and always always always making everything about himself. Hasn’t that just been exhausting?”
Walz went onto say that her husband and Harry will be fighitng for “everyone” if they win the White House.
“And because we’re at The Abbey, let me just say everyone absolutely includes LGBTQ+ friends, family and neighbors, too,” she said to cheers and applause. “But our opponents in this race see things a but differently. Trump and Vance are not fighing for everyone. They are fighting for themselves and what they’re offering with that Project 2025 agenda, no one is asking for it.”
This was the second Dance Party for Kamala at the Abbey. The first benefit took place in early August, before the vice president named Tim Walz as her running mate. There were no stump speeches from politicians or campaign surrogates the first time around. Only four people – “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Jinkx Monsoon, Ferguson, Mikita and Hawkins — delivered brief remarks during the three-hour party.
Ticket prices for Tuesday’s event ranged from $25 to attend to $10,000 co-chair packages that included photos with Gwen before she spoke to the crowd.
After finishing her remarks, Walz greeted and took selfies with several supporters standing in front of the stage.
