Trump and Harris visit Milwaukee in last-ditch effort to win Wisconsin

The dueling rallies – Trump is in downtown Milwaukee and Harris is in the suburbs – could be the candidates’ last appearances in the Wisconsin battleground before Election Day. Both sides say the race for the state’s 10 electoral votes is once again tight. Four of the last six presidential elections in Wisconsin were decided by a majority of less than one point, or less than 23,000 votes.

It was Milwaukee’s absentee votes, which are typically reported early the morning after Election Day, that determined President Joe Biden’s 2020 election in Wisconsin.

Democrats know they need to turn out voters in Milwaukee, also home to the state’s largest Black population, to counter Trump’s support in suburbs and rural areas. Harris hopes to repeat or even exceed 2020 turnout in a city that voted 79% for Biden this year.

Trump is trying to encroach on the Democratic margin. Deleon called it a “lose by smaller” 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 that there wasn’t the same amount of energy in 2016, I think it’s clear that Democrats have learned their lesson about the importance of Milwaukee and Wisconsin as a whole,” she said.

In another late-night outreach to black voters, former President Bill Clinton campaigned with local religious leaders Thursday night at a center celebrating African-American music and art in Milwaukee.

Hillary Clinton did not campaign in Wisconsin in 2016 after her first defeat, a mistake Harris will not repeat. Friday’s stop will be her ninth in the state as a presidential candidate and her fifth in Milwaukee or a suburb. This will be Trump’s 10th stop in Wisconsin, not counting the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and his third visit to the Milwaukee area.

Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Schimming said Harris’ return to the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee shows she is on defense while Trump is on offense.

The Milwaukee Board of Elections estimated Thursday that it expected to receive more than 100,000 votes by Election Day. But that lags early voting results in conservative suburbs.

“The question that no one knows the answer to is who these voters are voting for,” said Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. “I have a feeling Harris may be in for some nice surprises.”

Lang, the Milwaukee election organizer, said it is a tradition for many voters her group contacts to cast their ballots on Election Day. What if they don’t?

“So we’re in trouble,” said Mandela Barnes, former lieutenant governor and chairman of Power to the Polls, a group that works to increase turnout.

Trump’s rally is taking place in the same place where the Republican convention was held three months ago. Harris’ rally, which will be held at the state fairgrounds in West Allis, will feature rapper Cardi B, who is scheduled to speak only, and performances by GloRilla, Flo Milli, MC Lyte, The Isley Brothers and DJ GEMINI GILLY.