Americans are voting to elect their 47th president today with all eyes on the key swing states as votes are counted in the match-up between Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump.
Both candidates have crisscrossed the seven key swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The economy, employment, immigration, and abortion are the key issues for voters in swing states that could decide the election.
Wisconsin, for example, is faced with a statewide referendum authored by Republican legislators asking for permission to amend the state constitution to clearly prohibit non-US citizens from voting in any election held in the state.
Republicans argue they’re trying to protect election integrity as immigrants pour over the southern border, while Democrats and other opponents say the amendment has no practical effect.
Wisconsin is a crucial swing state in US presidential elections due to its history of close races and its role as a “tipping-point” state. It has 10 electoral votes, and the candidate who wins Wisconsin has often secured the presidency in recent elections.
The state’s demographics, with a significant white working-class population, make it competitive for both parties.
The polling data shows a close race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. According to FiveThirtyEight, Harris has a slight lead with 47% compared to Trump’s 46.8%, while some recent polls indicate Trump is leading.
Before Trump’s victory in 2016, the last time a Republican presidential candidate won Wisconsin was Ronald Reagan in 1984. Trump’s victory in 2016 was attributed to Foreign Secretary Hilary Clinton’s failure to campaign in Wisconsin because she considered the city a Democratic stronghold.
Early voting in Wisconsin is progressing with significant turnout. As of the end of October, over one million people have voted early, with Milwaukee County leading in total early votes when combining mail-in and in-person ballots. Both Republicans and Democrats have been emphasizing early voting and in-person.
Charles Benson, TMJ4 News political analyst and one of the most reliable, trusted, and experienced political reporters in Southern Wisconsin, who has interviewed both Harris and Trump and has been closely following the campaign, told local journalists on Thursday that the margins will be very tight in Wisconsin, but whoever wins there could eventually win the ticket to the White House.
“We are confident Trump will emerge victorious,” Hilario Deleon, Chairman of the Republican Party of Milwaukee County, told foreign journalists on Thursday at a press conference.
Chairman Deleon said the Republican Party is aware that Wisconsin remains one of the single most important battleground states.
“As we can see, both campaigns are focusing here in Milwaukee, so it’s going to be very interesting,” he said.
“We have done a lot of work over the past weeks and days to ensure we convince Republican voters to come out and vote early and in person,” Deleon added.
Milwaukee County hosted the Republican National Convention, which eventually confirmed Trump’s candidature.
Mr. Deleon said the decision to get the Republican Party closer to Wisconsin is well calculated given the importance attached to the city as a swing state.
“But I will have to admit that winning counties such as Milwaukee County outright is just mathematically impossible at this point because of the lack of inroads. That’s why I was elected as chairman so that we are able to go to areas that historically we haven’t gone to. These are both in the Black, Hispanic, Asian American, and Muslim communities. I have engaged several leaders in these communities to ensure that they vote for the Republican Party. This is something my predecessors were unable to achieve,” he said.
The Republican Party is credited with taking a new paradigm shift in this year’s election, which includes urging supporters to vote early.
“We are really taking a different approach, and right now what we are seeing is that the polling is favoring President Donald Trump in certain polls. I am not looking at the market poll but a lot of different other polls that are coming out showing that Mr. Trump is up by one point and our US Senate candidate who’s running against Senator Tammy Baldwin, who’s been there for years, is certainly pulling very close,” he said.
Deleon said the Republicans’ impressive shift in approach in counties like Milwaukee has caused pandemonium in the Democratic Party.
“The margin of error is phenomenal, and right now what we are seeing within the Democrats here in Milwaukee and even across the state is that they have internal disaster and confusion. They are very worried. I just had an interview with one of our local stations yesterday, TMJ4 News, and they interviewed my counterpart for the Democrats here in Milwaukee County, and she said herself that she’s very concerned. So, that’s not like them. We’re used to seeing them very confident and bragging about where they are in terms of numbers,” he added.
Deleon added that the Democrats are looking at the early voting numbers right now and Milwaukee is being outpaced by Waukesha County and many other counties.
Trump anti-migrants’ comments
Mr. Trump has come under immense criticism for his anti-immigrant rhetoric in recent weeks. During a rally in Arizona, he referred to the US as a “garbage can for the world,” criticizing the Biden-Harris administration’s border policies.
But Deleon, whose parents are Hispanic immigrants, said Mr. Trump’s comments are generally blown out of context by the media.
“Let me tell you, I am Hispanic adopted by an African-American, and today I am the chairman of the Republican Party in Milwaukee. I have also met Trump personally, and I can tell you he is not racist,” he defended.
Africa
Chairman Deleon said though the issue of Africa has not been discussed during the campaign, the Republican Party, if elected, would be committed to shifting its policy towards Africa.
“I think right now it won’t happen on the campaign trail, but it will probably happen when Trump becomes president. Again, the United States is one of the most generous nations in the entire world, but we just don’t want our money going overseas for wars. At least we as Republicans want to support peace efforts, but President Trump wants these efforts to be done diplomatically,” he said.
He said Mr. Trump will address issues that need to be addressed in Africa, just like he wants to address the issues going on in the Middle East.
Democrats
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin chair, Ben Wikler, emphasized the importance of voting in Wisconsin.
“We’re going to show America why Wisconsin’s state motto is forward,” she said.
“We also want to remind Americans and the world that the United States is a democracy, not a dictatorship, and what Donald Trump wants is to create a real dictatorship while Vice President Harris is standing for the truth, for our democracy, and I believe she is the one that is going to protect and support our democracy,” she said.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson urged Democrats to come out and vote.
“If Milwaukee turns out, then we win. Our votes are our voice,” he said.
“We should be ready to knock on doors and make phone calls to convince people to go out and vote. It should be all hands-on desk. We have a choice to make between two distinct Americans. One who has dangerous ideology who just called Milwaukee Hooks and only talks about immigrants and things that do not matter to the American people, and in Kamala Harris, a candidate who cares about the people of America,” he said.
Ex-President Bill Clinton
Former President Bill Clinton was also in Wisconsin to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris in Milwaukee on Thursday, as part of a final push before today’s election.
Speaking at The Institute for the Preservation of African-American Music and Arts in Milwaukee, Clinton praised the Biden-Harris administration for creating millions of jobs over the past four years.
While criticizing former President Donald Trump’s leadership approach, he stressed that Wisconsin could be decisive in the election outcome.
Early voting in Wisconsin has increased by nearly 40% compared to 2020, with November 3rd being the final day for early voting.
“I’m very honored to be here, and I will cut to the chase,” he told Democratic supporters.
“The future of the country is on the line, and it may be decided in Wisconsin, and it will be decided by who wants it most. Who will turn out? There are still people who could be swayed—who aren’t planning to vote.”
He urged Wisconsin to honor the obligation they have to give another generation a chance.
“So please do what you can, because the whole thing may come down to Wisconsin.”
