MILWAUKEE (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will duel within seven miles of each other in the Milwaukee area Friday evening as part of a last-ditch effort to win votes in the swing state of Wisconsin’s largest county.
Milwaukee is home to most of Wisconsin’s Democratic votes, but its conservative suburbs are where most Republicans live and are a crucial area for Trump as he tries to win back the state he narrowly won in 2016 and lost in 2020. a drop in support in those Milwaukee suburbs and an increase in Democratic votes in the city.
“Both candidates recognize that the road to the White House runs directly through Milwaukee County,” said Hilario Deleon, chairman of the county’s Republican Party.
The dueling rallies — Trump is in downtown Milwaukee and Harris in the suburbs — could be the candidates’ final appearances in battleground Wisconsin before Election Day. Both parties say the race is once again very close for the state’s ten electoral votes. Four of the past six presidential elections in Wisconsin were decided by less than one point, or fewer than 23,000 votes.
It was absentee ballots from Milwaukee, typically reported early in the morning after Election Day, that gave Wisconsin to President Joe Biden in 2020.
Democrats know they must turn out voters in Milwaukee, which also has the state’s largest black population, to counter Trump’s support in the suburbs and rural areas. Harris hopes to match and surpass the 2020 turnout in the city, which saw 79% vote for Biden that year.
Trump is trying to reduce the Democrats’ margin. Deleon called it a “lose for less” mentality.
Many Democrats are “anxious and cautiously optimistic,” said Angela Lang, founder and executive director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities in Milwaukee.
“Especially given the year 2016, when there wasn’t the same amount of energy, I think it’s clear that the Dems have learned lessons about the importance of Milwaukee and Wisconsin as a whole,” she said.
In another late outreach effort aimed at black voters, former President Bill Clinton campaigned with local faith leaders Thursday evening at a center for celebrating African American music and arts in Milwaukee.
Hillary Clinton did not campaign in Wisconsin in 2016 after her primary defeat, a mistake Harris will not repeat. The Friday stop will be her ninth in the state as a presidential candidate and her fifth in Milwaukee or its suburbs. It will be Trump’s 10th stop in Wisconsin, not counting the Republican National Convention, which was held in Milwaukee, and his third visit to the Milwaukee area.
Brian Schimming, chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said Harris’ return to Democratic stronghold Milwaukee shows she is on the defensive while Trump is on the attack.
The Milwaukee Election Commission estimated Thursday that it expects more than 100,000 ballots by Election Day. But that lags behind early voting results from conservative suburbs.
“The question no one knows the answer to is who those voters are voting for,” said Ben Wikler, chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “I have a feeling there might be some pleasant surprises in store for Harris.”
Lang, the Milwaukee organizer, said it is a tradition for many voters with her group to cast their ballots on Election Day. And if they don’t?
“Then we’re in a world of trouble,” said Mandela Barnes, a former lieutenant governor and president of Power to the Polls, a group dedicated to increasing voter turnout.
Trump’s rally will take place in the same arena where the Republican convention took place three months ago. The Harris rally, held at State Fair Park in West Allis, will feature rapper Cardi B, who will speak alone, and performances by GloRilla, Flo Milli, MC Lyte, The Isley Brothers and DJ GEMINI GILLY.
