Trump and Harris both campaign in Wisconsin Wednesday

With less than a week to go before Election Day  — and with no clear leader in the race — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are both in Wisconsin Wednesday.

Harris and her campaign are at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison for an hours-long “get out the vote” rally and concert beginning at 5:30 p.m. Voter turnout in Dane County, where President Joe Biden won almost 76 percent of the vote in 2020, is key to a potential Democratic victory in the state next week.

The Madison rally will include musical performers including Gracie Abrams, Mumford & Sons and Remi Wolf.

At the same time, Trump is holding a rally at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon outside Green Bay. He is expected to speak at 6 p.m. For Trump to win the state, he will need to turn out voters in northeast Wisconsin’s BOW counties, which include Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago.

On Friday, Trump will return to the state for a rally at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Harris also plans to be in Milwaukee that day.

Trump rally-goers stress abortion, education

Hours before Trump was set to speak, more than 1,000 people gathered outside the Resch Center waiting to be let into the venue.

Carol Baer made a three hour drive from Beloit to hear the former president speak. She called it a “bucket list” event, saying she’s wanted to attend a Trump rally since he announced his first run for president in 2015. Baer said she is against abortion, and that’s a big motivator for her this election.

“If you line up the two candidates, he is the most pro-life,” she said. “I would like him to be more (pro-life),  but he is definitely stricter on the policy.”

Baer said she believes Trump will win. If he loses, she says she will not believe the results were truthful.

“If he loses, I think it’ll be like the last election,” she said. “I mean, look around, the people that are going to the rallies, the backing he has, you can’t deny it.”

Sam Osborn of Oshkosh — who said he was part of Gen Z — struck a different tone, saying the country has “gone a long way” in terms of election integrity.

“I would say I would accept whatever it is. If Kamala ends up winning, I’ll wake up the next morning, maybe I’ll frown, maybe I’ll sigh, but I’ll go back to work, and life will be life,” Osborn said. “I hope the best for the country no matter what the outcome really is.”

Several attendees said education issues motivated their support for Trump. Jody Demuth of Green Bay said she’d love to see students learning more about morality and religion at school.

“If I had kids in the school system, I would not have them in the public school system. I would have them go private,” Demuth said.

Michelle Baldwin of Fremont was also in line for hours before the rally began. She says Trump inspires her.

“If he wins, I will feel like America is on a more even keel, perhaps,” she said. “I will feel that America is in better hands than it has been.”

Harris rally embraces younger generations

Under an overcast sky in Madison, thousands of people trickled into the Alliant Energy Center over the course of Wednesday afternoon. Many wore shirts or carried signs indicating their support of the Harris campaign.

In line, Roger and Jackie Eads said they canceled other plans and drove nearly two hours from Elgin, Illinois, to be at the rally. The couple, both 79, said they are feeling “guardedly optimistic” about Harris’ chances.

Jackie said she is worried about the prospect of another Trump presidency.

“I think the biggest threat to our country is Donald Trump. I thought it the four years he was in office, the four years he’s caused nothing but discord since he’s been out of office, and now during this campaign,” she said.

Allyson Killian and Morgan McAndrews, both 27, traveled in from Milwaukee. They said they’re motivated by women’s rights.

“We’re in our childbearing years, and if we want to start a family, it could be a risky situation,” said Killian. “Especially being in the state of Wisconsin where those rights have not always been cemented.”

The evening’s musical lineup was geared at younger voters, with Gen-Z favorites like Gracie Abrams and Remi Wolf, and acts for the millennial crowd, including Mumford & Sons and two members of The National.

Jenna Sorenson and Ellie Williams, students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said the combination of music and politics would motivate young people.

“I’m feeling confident,” Williams said. “I hope that with all the young people coming and the voter turnout, I think it’s gonna be really high this year among young people.” 

Inside the arena lobby, a small table held supplies for making friendship bracelets — similar in theme, if not scope, to crafts at a Taylor Swift concert.

Caitlin Kiley made friendship bracelets with her daughters, ages 8 and 4. She said they talk a lot about politics at home.

“I’ve never been to a rally like this, so I was really excited about the chance to take them,” she said. “Cause even though they can’t vote, they know that they have opinions that matter.”

Kiley said both her daughters were born in Mexico.

“So we talk about the way that Trump talks about people who are Latinos, people from other countries, recent comments about other countries sending their trash to the U.S,” she said. “And how that feels to them personally. So it really hits home with them.”

Last Marquette poll released shows Harris with narrow lead

While the candidates bring their message to the state’s voters, the Wisconsin-based Marquette University Law School Poll released its latest polling results for the state. It show shows Harris leading Trump by just 1 percentage point among likely Wisconsin voters.

In its prior poll released Oct. 2, Harris had a 4-point lead over Trump among Wisconsin voters.

Wisconsin is one of seven swing states critical to both campaigns. The state’s importance has fueled nearly weekly visits by Trump, Harris and their running mates.

Trump lost Wisconsin to President Joe Biden by less than 1 percent and fewer than 21,000 votes in 2020. Four years earlier, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the state by fewer than 23,000 votes.