Politics

Marty Walsh went to the Iowa State Fair, flipped some pork, and isn’t running for president

The Boston mayor made another trip to the Midwest this week.

Marty Walsh at the Iowa Pork Tent at the Iowa State Fair. Marty Walsh campaign via Twitter

By Nik DeCosta-Klipa

1 minute to read

It turns out you don’t have to be running for president to visit Iowa.

Following up on last month’s tour of Ohio and Indiana to campaign for Democratic candidates, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh dropped into Iowa this week. Walsh’s packed two-day schedule included a handful of events and meet-ups with local Democrats, union leaders, firefighters, and construction workers.

But, of course, a trip to Iowa in August wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the famous Iowa State Fair, a fried food haven and customary stomping ground of prospective presidential candidates. Walsh even stopped by the iconic pork tent to flip some patties.

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Hopefully, he fared better than former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney did during his first pork-flipping appearance (“It’s not like a pancake, huh?”). Walsh tweeted Thursday afternoon that he had a “great time talking to #Democrats with @troymprice, flipping patties, and walking the fair grounds with my brothers and sisters in Labor” at the fair.

Despite the abundance of local Massachusetts elected officials whose names are bandied about for future White House bids, Walsh typically hasn’t been included. Rather, he appears to be among the growing number of Democrats with no apparent near-term presidential plans who are traveling to Iowa to boost local candidates (and perhaps their own names).

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“This isn’t about one city or one state, this is about Americans coming together to get this country back on track and working for everyone,” he said in a statement earlier this week.

Still, Walsh isn’t waiting for anyone to ask the question.

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