Ben Wikler says: “Wisconsin is the state that produces presidents
Based on recent elections, Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, says, “Wisconsin is the state that produces presidents.”
MADISON – Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was on the march Sunday in a liberal voting stronghold in the US state of Wisconsin as a representative of the Harris-Walz campaign and spoke of what he called a sustained increase in enthusiasm for the Democrats.
Buttigieg’s last visit to the state three weeks ago was purely about business: He wanted to promote the Biden administration’s efforts to expand rail and port infrastructure.
On Sunday, the former 2020 presidential candidate was in Madison to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, one day before the start of the Democratic Party Convention.
Speaking to nearly 100 supporters at EVP Coffee before a day of campaigning in neighborhoods, Buttigieg praised the campaign’s ground campaign and said he was “impressed to learn that there are dozens of campaign offices on the ground in Wisconsin right now.”
“What an incredible energy here,” Buttigieg said at the event. “It just feels good to come together for a good cause like we are here today. It feels good to be reminded not only of what we are against, but also what we are for.”
Buttigieg said in an interview that he expected the enthusiasm felt in the early weeks of the campaign to continue because Harris and Walz were “exciting” to voters who had previously been worried about President Joe Biden’s campaign.
“In the first few days, people were asking, ‘Is this just the energy of the first few days?’ But now weeks have passed and the energy is just increasing,” he said.
According to a recent Marquette University Law School poll, the contest with former President Donald Trump in Wisconsin is neck and neck, and enthusiasm among Democratic voters has increased since Harris replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the ballot.
Election 2024: Marquette poll shows striking changes in Wisconsin election campaign
Trump’s campaign team was also active in the swing state. His running mate, JD Vance, the Republican Senator from Ohio, will travel to the state for the third time in three weeks on Tuesday. Following campaign press conferences in Milwaukee and Eau Claire, he will visit Kenosha.
“From the supply chain crisis to skyrocketing airfares, working families saw their savings and plans destroyed by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden,” GOP spokesman Matt Fisher said Sunday. “Pete Buttigieg’s visit to Madison only serves to remind voters of both their disastrous record and the need for change in November.”
Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was accompanied on the trip by his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, a Michigan native who attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who is running for her third term.
Pete Buttigieg said young voters will make up a large part of the energy behind the Harris-Walz campaign.
“Our lives are at stake. And the younger you are and the longer you plan to be here, the more you have at stake that we fight climate change, that we do something about gun violence, that we build a more equitable economy,” he said. “I also believe that young people are particularly passionate about freedom.”
He noted that social media is playing a bigger role in elections than ever before, especially the app TikTok.
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“The way people get information is changing, and I think that’s disrupted a lot of political campaigns over the last few years. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but we have to adapt,” he said. “I mean, sometimes I’ll do a series of TV interviews only to find out I’ve reached someone because some of it ended up on TikTok.”
Climate change is a key issue for Democrats seeking to appeal to young voters
Buttigieg predicts that climate change will be an issue that will draw voters to the Democratic Party.
Climate change was a topic of conversation for the first time at Republican National Convention events in July, though not on the main stage. Young conservative voters said the issue could sway them to vote for a liberal candidate if Republicans and the Trump campaign do not recognize it as a priority.
Pete Buttigieg said it was important to make climate change a top issue not only because the solutions create jobs in the clean energy industry, but also because young voters want to be heard when they voice their concerns about the future.
“The threat of climate change is particularly damaging to the future prospects of young people,” he said. “A healthy dynamic would be one where the only issue between Republicans and Democrats is who is doing more to combat climate change.”
You can reach Laura Schulte at [email protected] and at X at @SchulteLaura.
