Harris to campaign in Milwaukee during DNC week

Vice President Kamala Harris is planning a return to Wisconsin for a rally at Fiserv Forum next Tuesday. 

The event will happen in the same building that hosted the Republican National Convention last month. And it will coincide with the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, giving the party the opportunity to showcase two large crowds in basketball arenas on the same day. 

Joe Zepecki is a Democratic strategist who served as the Wisconsin communications director for former President Back Obama’s reelection in 2012. 

“It has been a long time since a Democratic candidate for president was generating this level of enthusiasm,” Zepecki said. 

He says Harris needs to take “big swings” for voters’ attention because she will have the shortest general election in recent memory. 

“These big crowd events show enthusiasm and momentum and create a permission structure for people to say, ‘You know what? I am gonna go with Harris. I want to go. I want to be with the winning team. I wanna be where the energy and enthusiasm is.’” 

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler said the campaign stops from both major party tickets show the state’s key position in the road to the White House.

“I think voters in Wisconsin are gonna see with crystal clarity that their ballots could determine the winner of this presidential race. That’s why the Republican Convention was here. That’s why we will have our nominee on Wisconsin soil,” he said.

The event will mark Harris’ seventh trip to the Badger State this year and her third since her status shifted from campaigning as vice president to campaigning for the presidency. She visited West Allis two days after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, and campaigned in Eau Claire with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz the day after naming him as her running mate. 

“The energy that she’s bringing to the Wisconsin campaign specifically really communicates to voters that they matter in this election, that they’re seen, that they’re powerful,” Wikler said. 

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance will campaign at the Milwaukee Police Union Friday. He also visited Eau Claire earlier this month.  

Recent polls show Harris with a slight lead over former President Donald Trump in the Wisconsin.