By Lizzie Ramirez
Actor Ed Helms, famously known for his roles in “The Hangover” and “The Office” grew up in a battleground state and was always involved in politics, leading him to open for Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz at the Reno rally on Oct. 8.
Helms said Nevada holds a special place in his heart because of the time he spent in the Silver State while filming “The Hangover.”
“I’m here today for the same reason that you are, for the same reason that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are running in this election,” Helms said on Tuesday. “We love our country, and we believe in the promise of this big, beautiful, diverse nation of ours. We’re here today because that promise is worth fighting for.”
The overflow of supporters cheered when he said this. Helms reminisced about another show he was on, “The Office,” where he compared his character to former President Donald Trump.
“Another lesson I learned was on ‘The Office,’ where I played Andy Bernard,” he said. “I played a Cornell graduate who sang too much and punched a hole in the wall because his fragile little ego couldn’t handle being made fun of. We don’t want leaders with fragile little egos.”
The ballroom was filled with a mixture of applause and laughter. Helms said he grew up in a political family, always tuned in during every election cycle. “It’s not a new thing this time around, but I will say it does feel heightened right now,” he said.
About two months ago, he said it finally clicked with him that the election was so soon. “It is time to ramp up and dive in as hard as I can.”
Helms said he can relate to Nevadans because, being from a battleground state of Georgia, there’s also political diversity in his family. Growing up, he didn’t think this was a bad thing, just that it opened the door for conversation to understand each other. Helms reminisced about playing with his friends as a kid, and his parents didn’t care if their families had opposing political views. He said it felt very “healthy.”
In today’s day and age, Helms believes it feels very “dark,” and the divide feels “so intense.”
“To me, that’s kind of heartbreaking,” he said. “I really see the Harris-Walz ticket as a step back toward civility and the ability to agree to disagree and actually negotiate instead of just fighting for these all-or-nothing wins and losses in Congress.”
He thanked Nevada as a big stepping stone in his career because of “The Hangover” trilogy. Walz visiting Reno lined up perfectly with Helms’ schedule, and he was asked to participate in the rally. He admitted that the political division in the country has made it harder to look out for each other, but “it is important to look out for each other.”
“It was so poignant to hear Governor Walz talking about reaching out to Republicans in his speech and commending Republicans for so much of the good they have done throughout political history and throughout governmental history,” he said. “I thought that was really beautiful and so necessary and so honest.”
Despite being involved in the Harris-Walz campaign, Helms is also involved in a nonpartisan organization, RepresentUs. The organization helps “make sure our democracy is functioning at its best possible level.”
Helms believes there are a lot of ways the U.S. democracy is “legally corrupt.” Some examples are gerrymandering and dark money in politics. One solution Helms believes could help fix democracy is ranked-choice voting, which is on the ballot for Nevada as Question 3.
“Ranked-choice voting makes all candidates accountable to all the voters,” he explained. “Instead of pushing candidates to more extremes on the right or the left, it actually pushes politicians more to the center because they suddenly have to answer to everybody.”
He encouraged Nevadans to “vote yes” on Question 3 in the election.
When it comes to undecided voters, Helms encouraged Nevadans to give themselves a “gut check.”
