Milwaukee may be best known nationally as an industrial town, with breweries, Harley motorcycles … and Democrats. However, in just a few days, it rolls out the welcome mat to tens of thousands of Republicans, gathering for their national political convention. City leaders say Milwaukee is ready, after years of preparing for its moment in the political spotlight.
In Milwaukee’s downtown these days, buses whiz by, as does the Hop—the modern streetcar line. On one corner there’s several buildings decorated with green vines and red, white and blue faux flowers. “A lot of what we've done here in the heart of the city is simply add the cherry on top,” says Erica Green, director of the public space initiative with the downtown Business Improvement District.
She’s also hoping visitors take those downtown buses, Bublr Bikes, and other public transportation to neighborhoods outside of the downtown area.
Four years ago, Democrats were going to host their convention in Milwaukee, but COVID squelched that possibility. Now, the Fiserv Forum —where the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team plays— has been transformed for the RNC.
It’s expected to bring a sizable crew to Brew City, says Omar Sheik, who’s on the RNC host committee. “You have 8,000 delegates, you have 15,000 members of the media. And then what do you have beyond that? 30, 40,000 people, 50,000 people. I mean, it's gonna be a lot of people in town.”
With a lot of Republicans in a Democratic city — it’s a bit of political bipartisanship.
That’s after months, even years, of Republican complaints —both in the state and nationally— over how the deep blue city governs itself, runs elections and handles crime.
LISTEN: Swing State of the Union, Episode 2: Milwaukee v. Wisconsin
This conversation became amplified when Punchbowl News reported that GOP Former President Donald Trump made disparaging remarks about Milwaukee to a group of House Republicans.
That controversy irked Matt Wild, co-founder of the digital news site, Milwaukee Record.
Wild says he was first excited about the RNC coming to town after the chance to host the DNC fizzled.
“I was like, ‘Oh, good. This is a do over.’ As time went on, it was like, ‘Wait a minute. Why should we be hosting this political party who seems to have nothing but contempt for the very city that they want to throw their little party at?'” he says.
Republicans worked to smooth over the controversy over Trump’s reported comments, saying no one was criticizing the city itself. But some in the city are unconvinced, like Alina Cunningham. She says, "[Trump] probably meant exactly what he said. And uh, wow. I’m not really surprised anyway because it’s Trump. He just says whatever he wants to say and gets away with everything."
Visit Milwaukee, the city’s tourism arm, doesn't weigh in on politics. It has been marketing the city’s lakefront beaches, vibrant local food scene (the latest season of 'Top Chef' was filmed in Wisconsin) and cultural diversity to make sure people who visit or see media coverage consider the city a destination for future trips or conventions.
Best case scenario — the city gets $200 million in economic impact from the RNC … in the form of spending on hotels, bars and restaurants, and booking of event spaces.
But not everybody is convinced. Some businesses might not break even. Others are a little outside the action. Paul Johnson, or “PJ” is making an old fashioned at Wolski’s, a classic Milwaukee tavern in Brady Street neighborhood. He’s been a bartender there for 34 years.
He says it’ll be a big summer for dive-bar hopping in Milwaukee, but not necessarily because of the convention. “We're definitely hoping to get some business for it. We've been in contact with a lot of people, but it's all kind of hushed right now, no one knows the impact because we’ve never been in that situation before.”
And there are others concerned about traffic and parking, an influx of guns or any contentious protests that might occur.
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Others are concerned about what they say is Republicans' 'racist and reactionary' agenda.
But Mike Buhr had a more easygoing approach. He was sitting at Wolski’s with a buddy and a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the RNC or the DNC, or whatever they have here. It’s good for the city!” he says.
And Visit Milwaukee’s Claire Koenig says there’s also some context that shouldn’t be forgotten. “When we bid on this, it was post-pandemic, we were doing everything we can to get more visitors in our hospitality businesses to help them just survive,” she explains.
She says there’s a common phrase in Milwaukee these days: “It’s not red or blue, it’s green.”
