Presidential ticket fires up Teton Dems, More than 200 people attend rally on Square in support of Harris, Walz.

JACKSON — June Nystrom has been waiting 70 years for a woman to become president.

She stood on the Town Square on Friday evening in a sea of signs and more than 200 rally attendees who were just as excited as she was about the Democratic presidential ticket. The promise of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was a reason to celebrate for the Teton County residents who turned out.

“When I was 6 years old, I was asking my mom why we didn’t have a woman president,” said Nystrom, 70, with a blue streak in her hair and holding her husband’s hand. “I was sure we’d be like other countries and have more women at the head of state.

“It’s taken America way too long.”

The exhilarated voter who’s lived in Teton County for 43 years said Harris brought joy to politics. Poster boards decorated with bright-colored markers said, “Say yes to joy!”

“Wyoming needs her more than anybody else,” Nystrom said. “This state needs to pay attention to women and their rights.”

This was the consensus amongst the crowd brought together by Democratic County Commissioner Natalia Macker. She started organizing the event weeks ago after talking with the women in her life who felt rejuvenated by Harris taking President Joe Biden’s spot at the top of the ticket.

Although the rally was scheduled one day before former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump was set to attend a fundraiser in Teton County, she said the two events were not connected.

Macker said she wanted the community to show its support and send the Democratic delegation off to the national convention next week knowing where Teton County stood. Rep. Mike Yin and Maureen Barry are two residents from Jackson going to Chicago, and the entire delegation voted to endorse Harris and Walz.

“We are all gathered here because we know that freedom and opportunity are what America is all about,” Macker told the crowd Friday, and was met with applause and hollering. “We are also here because we know we deserve all the health care that’s available. We’re here to improve and repair our democracy. We’re here because our children deserve a great education because we have to change our climate trajectory and because we deserve paid leave and child care.

“We are a community and a country that cares about each other and that cares about our planet, and we’re here because it’s finally time for the United States of America to put a woman in charge.”

Maggie Hunt, chair of the Teton County Democratic Party, said she was thrilled with the turnout. The party has been riding a wave of excitement since President Biden gave in to mounting pressure and announced July 21 he would not seek the nomination.

“Two weeks ago, who would have seen this coming?” Hunt said. “Everybody, encourage your friends to get excited, to get behind this fabulous ticket.”

She also encouraged attendees to vote the entire ballot. “Vote for the county commissioners, vote for the town council, vote for school board because these down-ballot elections matter,” she said.

But not every person in the crowd was fully behind the Harris campaign. In a crowd largely made up of women and older Teton County residents, 25-year-old Cooper Nelson came out to see how many people in the small town would attend.

He was under the impression Harris would be making a speech, and he wanted to see how she interacted with the crowd and get some “real world experience” instead of reading an article online. Nelson said he was disappointed Harris wasn’t there in person, as he’s still deciding where his vote will go.

In casting his ballot, he may be swayed by Bitcoin, a type of digital currency.

“I want to hear what the Harris administration has to say about the Bitcoin industry because I know Trump has been talking about that a lot recently, and technology changes how society organizes,” he said. “That’s one of the really important factors, especially given how much debt the U.S. has and the Treasury balance sheet. Fiscal policy is pretty important right now.”

Nelson was one of the youngest attendees.

Jayne Ottman, 73, called Harris the “candidate for America.” The longtime public health nurse and cofounder of the Stage Stop sled dog race has lived in Teton County for more than five decades.

“We need someone who is intelligent, who understands world affairs and politics, and who understands the meaning of our Constitution, and who plans to uphold the rights of all people,” she said.

Ottman said she wants a president who is not self-serving. The issues that were most important to her were repeated by many of the rally attendees: upholding the Constitution, supporting reproductive rights for women and men, looking out for families and ensuring they had access to child care and parental leave, addressing food scarcity and supporting public education.

She added that she wants parents to have the right to make their own decisions for their children, not Congress or state legislatures. Ottman said she wants a president who is “not morally corrupt or lies to the American public, and actually shows us their willingness to work together.

“I just want a president who thinks about the life of this country, from birth to death,” she said.

This story was published on August 14, 2024.