Harris and Walz reintroduce joy to Democrats their first week on the campaign trail

It’s been a long time since Democratic voters associated politics with joy. This week, from one swing state to the next, Vice President Harris and her new running mate, Tim Walz, barnstormed joyfully, lifted by the cheers of the largest rally crowds of their campaign.

There were 12,000 supporters in Eau Claire, Wis., and also in Las Vegas; an estimated 14,000, including the overflow room, in Philadelphia; about 15,000 in Phoenix; and a similar number spilling out of an aircraft hangar at the Detroit airport where that rally took place.

The campaign has also boasted of a $36 million influx in donations in the 24 hours after Walz joined the ticket, and another $12 million-plus from a fundraiser slated for later on Sunday in San Francisco.

There has been a dramatic mood shift both among Democratic voters and in the campaign messaging since President Biden stepped aside and endorsed Harris. But even the new candidates admit there is much work to do before November.

'Joyful warriors'

When Air Force 2 landed in Detroit on Wednesday, it was instantly clear this was a different campaign than the grim march to November Democrats had been girding themselves for.

There was a party atmosphere. Harris aides danced on the tarmac and DJs pumped up the crowd with songs like “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston, as everyone waited for Harris and Walz to step off the plane. When they did, the place went wild.

Walz raised both arms in the air in exclamation, and then the pair walked across the tarmac directly to excited supporters waving signs.

At a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday, just hours after Harris called the Minnesota governor at home to tell him he was the one, Walz thanked her.

“Thank you, Madam Vice President, for