One part of winning this year’s presidential election in Wisconsin will be how many votes are picked up across the northern part of the state.
Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate Tim Walz spent this past weekend in one blue northern county and another one that’s quite red.
WUWM covered the candidate visits and spoke with some UpNorth voters.
Republican Donald Trump won 58 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties four years ago, including much of the northern two-thirds of the state. For example, Marathon County, which includes Wausau, went for Trump by 18 percentage points, or 14,000 votes over Democrat Joe Biden.
But there was Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz on Friday afternoon speaking to his party’s get-out-the-voice volunteers at a Wausau brewing company. The Minnesota Governor talked about the importance of making gains in GOP areas.
“And I know people say, ‘Well, it’s a little redder county, or whatever.’ It’s about reducing the margins. It’s about pulling things down; it’s about the swing states," Walz said to cheers.
Among the volunteers was Milwaukee native Michelle Klein, who has lived in Wausau for decades and insists Northern Wisconsin is not Trump Country.
“No, it’s not. It’s, it’s Harris-Walz Country! And we’re going to do everything in our power to make that happen," Klein told WUWM.
Klein, a former teacher, said she’ll be doing more outreach for Walz and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris because of the ticket’s support for reducing gun violence at schools.
“And it was pretty sad that I had to have my students have drills, for you know, shooters," she said.
Klein said she’s also a big supporter of Harris' backing of women’s reproductive rights, as is her friend and co-campaign volunteer Dessa Krueger. But number one for Krueger when backing the Democrats?
“Oh, I just love how inclusive they are of everyone in the population. That’s what I love the best," Krueger said.
Another campaign volunteer, Kevin Wald, said he likes Harris’ plan to expand the federal child tax credit and provide down-payment support for first-time homebuyers.
“I do not have my own house, and I would like to start a family soon. So, they’re both right up my alley," Wald said.
But travel to a smaller and even redder northern Wisconsin county – Barron—where Trump defeated Biden by 26 percentage points in 2020, and there are people who say nothing will sink their support for the Republican.
Before hopping on her all-terrain vehicle Saturday morning for a trail ride with family and friends, Chetek resident Patricia Heisz said she backs Trump on closing the U.S. border and likes his plan to get rid of income taxes on Social Security benefits.
“You paid taxes on that once. Why are you paying on it again? I don’t get it. I just don’t get how our government runs, I guess," Heisz said.
Outside the post office in Rice Lake, Terri Brinker said she’s staying with the Republicans due to the border, the economy, and gun rights—though she’s maybe not a GOP enthusiast right now.
“With it being the election year, it’s the lesser of two evils. I mean, you listen to both sides. They’re going to tell you what you want to hear. I just know that when Trump was in office—he’s proven," Brinker said.
Another Rice Lake resident, Scott Wisniewski, insists he’s still 50-50 on the presidential contest, though he said he is concerned about inflation and immigration.
Asked to explain, Wisniewski said, “Well, inflation, you know, you don’t need to be a doctor or scientist to figure that one out. And of course, the border, a lot of people coming in.”
The Democrats do seem to have sure-fire friends in far northern Wisconsin. The state’s three largest counties along Lake Superior all went for Biden four years ago by at least nine percentage points.
In the Douglas County seat of Superior Saturday afternoon, Walz told a rally of more than 1000 people that their outreach is really needed in the next 50 days to win what he calls a battle.
“It’s going to be won door to door, call to call, five dollar donation," Walz said.
In that audience, Ashland County resident Kathy Schutte labeled Trump, a poor candidate and brushed off fears of Northern Wisconsin staying red.
“Absolutely, absolutely, it’s blue!" Schutte said.
Republicans aren’t giving up on the north. GOP vice-presidential candidate JD Vance is due back in Eau Claire this Wednesday.
But, Democrats also have a very blue and much larger Madison in their favor, where Vice-President Harris will hold a rally on Friday evening.
Her campaign is also counting on Milwaukee and a few medium-sized Wisconsin cities to give Democrats the edge in November.
