Since 1992, Wisconsin had been identified by political strategists as part of the “Blue Wall,” a section of the American electorate comprising of roughly 240 electoral votes that have reliably voted for Democrats from 1992 to 2012. In 2016, however, Donald Trump shocked Hillary Clinton by winning the state. So the question now is, can he do it again?
Wisconsin has traditionally been thought of as place with an economy rooted in a rich dairy industry, producing over a quarter of America’s cheese, a giant beer brewer, and the home of many manufacturing jobs. But, in recent months, the words, Kenosha, Jacob Blake, and Kyle Rittenhouse have overshadowed its proud reputation.
In the days following Jacob Blake being shot by police officers and Kyle Rittenhouse shooting and killing two people and wounding another in August, the city of Kenosha became the latest place of violent unrest.
With both events gaining national attention, President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden made statements about the violence and traveled Kenosha to survey the damage. In Trump’s statement, he condemned the violence and called for order to be brought by law enforcement. Biden, on the other hand, claimed that Trump was fueling the flames of the violence with his hateful rhetoric. Trump then refused to condemn Rittenhouse’s actions saying he was acting in self-defense. He also declined to speak with Jacob Blake’s family, claiming the family requested a lawyer be involved and Trump thought that sounded “inappropriate.” However, Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, met privately with Blake’s family in separate visits.
The Trump and Biden campaigns are taking very different tactics on how to win Wisconsin’s coveted 20 electoral votes.
With Trump, it’s focusing on restoring the economy that the COVD-19 pandemic had destroyed. With Biden, it’s focusing on racial justice, which, in their view, is the key to calming the chaos.
Either could be a winning strategy, but which will resonate more with Wisconsin voters? Honestly, it’s hard to say.
Though Wisconsin has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate from 1992-2012, it did elect Republican senator Ron Johnson in 2010 then re-elected him in 2016. Republican Scott Walker was a two-term governor until 2018 when he lost his re-election bid to Democrat Tony Evers by less than 30,000 votes. Also during the 2018 election, Wisconsin’s junior Senator Tammy Baldwin won a resounding victory over her Republican challenger Leah Vukmir.
Following the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton’s lack of campaigning in the state led to countless jokes about her not being able to find Wisconsin on a map. After four years of laughs, Democrats would love nothing more than attend that joke’s funeral and see it cremated.
