Marcus M. Perkins watched the vice presidential debate on a big screen outside St. Paul’s Dual Citizen Brewing on Oct. 1, 2024. Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer.
Marcus M. Perkins on Tuesday evening watched the vice presidential debate on a large screen outside of St. Paul’s Dual Citizen Brewing with his hands in his lap, seated next to a firepit. Other attendees loudly cheered whenever Gov. Tim Walz tried a one-liner, but Perkins mostly watched the debate stoically, shaking his head in disagreement once in a while throughout the 90-minute debate.
He was so engrossed watching Walz and Sen. J.D. Vance spar that a hot ember from the fire burned a hole in his jeans without him noticing.
Perkins, 70, grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 2008, he was a precinct delegate for Barack Obama in Iowa City, door-knocking his largely Republican neighbors to elect the nation’s first Black president. Helping elect a Black president was a life goal.
Another: Helping elect a woman president, namely Kamala Harris.
“I want someone who … will create opportunities for everyone no matter who they are,” Perkins said, citing her experience as a prosecutor and overall strengths across a long career in local, state and federal office.
Perkins’ great-great-grandfather was enslaved, and he moved the family to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the late 19th century. His family has long supported Democrats. Perkins said he was comfortable in Iowa for much of his life, but right-wing extremism made his neighbors more difficult to interact with. A retired teacher, he now lives in St. Paul, and he likes to play the bass in his spare time.
He signed up with the Harris-Walz campaign in July, when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, and he volunteers about two days a week mostly door-knocking.
If Biden had stayed in the race, Perkins said he likely wouldn’t have voted this year. He said he didn’t like that Biden was gaming for another term, even though the he strongly suggested he would only serve one. Perkins also doesn’t like how Biden has handled the crisis in Gaza and wants the next president to more actively work for a two-state solution.
Over 400 people attended the Harris-Walz campaign’s St. Paul vice presidential debate watch party. Walz, visibly nervous in the beginning, found his stride toward the end when talking about abortion and Jan. 6. Perkins thought Walz ultimately came out on top, but allowed that Walz struggled in the beginning.
“Walz tried to poke the bear a little bit — they both did — but I think it was a slow start for Walz,” Perkins said.
He said he has mixed feelings about Walz. Perkins believes Walz could have called in the National Guard sooner during the 2020 civil unrest, but he understands that not every governor goes into office prepared for that kind of crisis. .
Perkins, a former wrestling coach, said he wants politics to be more empathetic and believes it’s time for the country to have its first woman president, and he believes Harris is the right person for the job.
“She’s competent and compassionate. That’s what I want,” Perkins said.