Kamala Harris storms through Wisconsin, with events in Milwaukee, Green Bay, La Crosse

With election day less than three weeks away, Vice President Kamala Harris stormed through Wisconsin Thursday, holding events and rallies in three cities across the state.

She began the day speaking to students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, moved on to an event in western Wisconsin, then traveled to Green Bay for a rally Thursday night.

At the afternoon rally at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Harris focused on energizing Wisconsin voters, telling supporters that her campaign is “the underdog” in this year’s race.

Speaking to more than 3,000 people in the gym of the UW-La Crosse recreation center, Harris added a Wisconsin twist to a slogan of her campaign, “we’re not going back”.

“Just like Wisconsin state motto tells us, we will move forward,” Harris told the crowd. “We will move forward, because ours is a fight for the future, and it is a fight for freedom.”

The vice president’s 30-minute speech focused on economic issues like supporting small businesses and lowering the cost of housing, including support for first-time home buyers. The issue drew loud applause from the crowd that included a number of university students.

Harris hammered former President Donald Trump for calling the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol “a day of love” during a town hall event hosted by Univision on Wednesday. She said Americans were “exhausted by his gaslighting” around the 2020 election and were ready to “turn the page.”

The vice president was interrupted twice by protestors at the western Wisconsin rally.

After speaking about her support for restoring national abortion rights, Harris was heckled by several people who were quickly escorted from the crowd. Harris responded by joking that the hecklers “were at the wrong rally.”

Later in her remarks, a few people broke into a chant in support of ending the war in Gaza. Harris continued speaking over the chants before staff escorted the protestors from the event.

Earlier in the day, Harris spoke about developments in Gaza after meeting with business students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Harris addressed news that broke Thursday morning confirming the death of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas.

“This moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza,” Harris told reporters. “And it must end such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self determination.”

The event with business students was closed to the press, but according to a statement from the Harris campaign, she spoke to a business class and discussed “entrepreneurship and economic policy.” She was accompanied by businessman Mark Cuban.

Outside of the event, dozens of protesters gathered to speak out against President Joe Biden and Harris’ handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Kayla Patterson, a student organizer with UW-Milwaukee Popular University for Palestine, was one of the protesters. She said she likely won’t vote for Harris or former President Donald Trump because of their stances on the conflict.

“I can’t, in good faith, vote for either the Democrats (Harris) or the Republicans (Trump),” Patterson said.

Several other students stood outside of the event trying to catch a glimpse of Harris. That included Phoebe Meyer, a freshman at UW-Milwaukee who said she’s voting for Harris.

“I’m hopeful that she’ll win,” Meyer said. “I’m nervous frankly, because it does seem pretty close, but, I think it’s important to vote for the candidate who you agree with the most and I think Kamala Harris will be able to support our country moving forward.”

Harris is narrowly leading Trump among likely voters, according to the latest Marquette University Law School poll.

When it comes to college voters, a recent Inside Higher Ed/Generation Lab poll found 57 percent of college students plan to vote for Harris, compared to 19 percent for Trump. The poll also found 15 percent of college students are still undecided. 

As she waited for the La Crosse rally to begin, UW-La Crosse senior Alli Delasky said this is the first presidential election she’s been old enough to vote. She said since Harris stepped forward as the Democratic nominee, there’s been “more hope for change” in the election.

“(I’m excited about) having a president that’s going to back reproductive rights for women and has plans for down payment assistance for first time homebuyers,” Delasky said. “I’m going to be graduating and I’m hopefully going to be looking into buying a house in the next few years.”

While Harris was on her way to La Crosse in the afternoon, hundreds of people were already waiting in line for the Green Bay rally hours before its scheduled start.

Among them was Suzette Baer. The 77-year-old Wisconsin Rapids resident, who described herself as an independent, said the Green Bay rally is the first political event she’s ever attended. She plans to vote for Harris.

“I’m past child bearing age, but I don’t think it’s right that they’re not allowing abortions for people that really need it when it’s a matter of health,” Baer said. “They (the government) should not be making rules for the young people.”

This is Harris’ sixth visit to Wisconsin so far since entering the race over the summer. Both Harris and former President Donald Trump have campaigned in Wisconsin heavily in recent weeks, holding several rallies and events in the crucial swing state ahead of the election.

In a press conference Thursday, Wisconsin Republicans criticized the Biden-Harris administration’s economic record and argued that things were better during Trump’s administration.

State GOP Chair Brian Schimming said Harris was visiting Wisconsin because she’s slipping in the polls, telling reporters the “Harris honeymoon” was over.

“At some point, people check out of the hotel and go home, and the voters have checked out of the Harris honeymoon hotel,” Schimming said.

Trump was last in Wisconsin on Oct. 6, as he spoke to supporters in Dodge County, a Republican stronghold.