Damakant Jayshi

An elementary school task force evaluating the future of the 13 elementary schools in the Wausau School District recommends closing Hewitt-Texas, Hawthorn Hills, Grant and Lincoln Elementary Schools, one of two potential options the board will now consider.

The proposed closures, outlined as part of “Bundle 1,” would impact approximately 700 students in grades 4K through 5, according to the district’s September 2024 demographics report. In addition, 180 teachers and staff would be affected. While plans for relocating students have been identified, the fate of teachers and staff remains uncertain though the district says it would make efforts to accommodate them.

Under “Bundle 2,” described as a “more modest, incremental solution,” Lincoln Elementary, with about 200 students and roughly 50 staff members, would remain open. This alternate option would affect about 14% of students, but the offer reduces financial savings.

While both bundles have variations, the committee’s voting record indicates greater support for the base version of Bundle 1.

The 45-member task force, formed in June, included 15 district parents, 15 community members without children currently in district schools, and 15 teachers and staff. The Wausau School Board outlined five evaluation criteria for the group in August, emphasizing fiscal viability as a top priority. The task force has convened nine times since its first meeting on June 17.

Projected savings and staffing impacts

Under the first plan, the district expects an annual staff expense reduction of $1.6 million to $1.8 million over three years through attrition, primarily retirements and resignations. A Dec. 6 note by Diana White, the district’s communications coordinator, stated that staff reductions, if necessary, would likely occur through transfers to vacant positions resulting from attrition.

After this story appeared, the district sent an updated response.

“In reality, most of the staff impacted will be shifted to locations where the students are shifted because we will need more staff to serve the students that move,” White said. This was in addition to her previous comment in which she said that depending on the position and how critical it is, staff may be transferred from their current role into that vacant position. “In some cases, the position may not be filled. In any given year, we hire approximately 70 to 100 new staff, which provides lots of opportunity to do just this.”

The plan is also projected to avoid $4.1 million in maintenance costs over 10 years, with an additional half a million dollars in operational cost savings. These figures exclude busing costs.

There are discrepancies in the number of students being impacted under Bundle 1. The presentation shared with the board by the task force’s coordinator, Mark Roffers of MD Roffers Consulting, on Monday said that the number of impacted pre-K to fifth-grade students is 679, or 20% of elementary school students.

Roffers, through White, said the numbers were an estimate based on Spring 2024 enrollment at the affected schools.

“The actual number and percentage of K-5 students affected will depend on the actual number of K-5 students in the schools that will be closed or repurposed as of September of whatever year the schools close,” he told Wausau Pilot & Review.

Another change would occur related to busing, with at least six to seven new routes required, each costing $40,000 annually.

Next steps

The board will also have to approve an updated attendance map to reflect the new boundaries. The one attached with the recommendation shows the changes.

Board members praised the recommendations, saying they were thorough and data-driven, unlike past endeavors. At Interim Superintendent Cale Bushman’s request, a Dec. 18 special meeting will be postponed until January. That date and time will now be used for an additional task force meeting to discuss new data regarding Achievement Gap Reduction (AGR) funding. 

White said the task force will convene to review new information about AGR funding that was not available on or prior to the Dec. 4 task force meeting.

“There’s also additional information about elementary capacities – and we’d like an opportunity to map the buildings to ensure students fit,”  White said.

No decision yet but ‘do not lose momentum’ mood

Based on comments by board and task force members, the plan could be approved as soon as early next year and implemented by the 2026-27 school year – a timeline that Bushman mentioned several times. The implementation year has not been finalized yet, though.

One of the committee members said watching the group come together and the process revealed an “Aha moment.”

The group went from “that’s my school” to “that’s my district,” she said, with people having productive conversations about the future.

“I would hate to lose that momentum,” she said.

Roffers, during his presentation, said all task force members agreed that some schools would eventually need to close and recognized that keeping all schools open wasn’t a viable option.

The proposed changes

The closure of the four schools, if approved by the board, leads to other changes, including those related to pre-K:

• Hewitt-Texas Elementary closes and shifts its students to Riverview Elementary.
• Hawthorn Hills students move to John Marshall and Franklin elementaries. Additionally, Hawthorn Hills’ pre-K Academy shifts to Riverview Elementary.
• Grant students shift to Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Jefferson’s pre-K Academy moves to Lincoln Elementary.
• Lincoln Elementary is closed and repurposed into a pre-K Academy. Lincoln’s K-5 grades shift to G.D. Jones Elementary. G.D. Jones’ pre-K Academy shifts to Lincoln.

While “receivers” are suitable to take students from the closed schools, two of them, John Marshall and Franklin, require HVAC upgrades, including air conditioning.

The task force also considered the option of closing Rib Mountain and shifting students to South Mountain, but that discussion and decision have been left for the future.

There was some discussion about the pros and cons of maintaining a single pre-K academy.

Replying to a question from board member Sarah Brock on the impact on curriculum and students by having a consolidated versus different K-5 grades, Director of Elementary Education Julie Schell said it would not have a major impact since the students and teachers will use the same curriculum and resources.

Declining enrollment, varying class sizes, increasing deficit

District and board officials have said over the years that retaining 13 elementary schools in the face of declining enrollment, lopsided class sizes, and projected increasing budget deficits is not sustainable. Consolidation has been discussed intermittently for years.

In November 2023, the Wausau School Board reversed a decision to combine Wausau East and West and move fifth-grade students from elementary into middle schools. As part of the original restructuring plan, at least five of the 13 elementary schools would have been either merged or closed. But that plan was shelved after fierce opposition from the community.

According to the figures shared by consultant Roffers on Monday, the 13 elementary schools currently have about 1,100 empty seats, a number that is projected to grow to 1,300 by 2027 if no changes are made. In addition to the projected annual deficit of $2 million to $3 million, the schools have aging buildings, requiring nearly $25 million in 10-year deferred maintenance needs, the presentation showed.

The district plans to engage the community and seek its input on the recommendations, and the public will have the opportunity to participate in the upcoming events.

On Monday, Dec. 16, Cooperative Educational Service Agency 10 is scheduled to present the results of their Elementary Facility Assessment to the Wausau School Board. Two days later, the task force will meet for the final time.

Letters to Santa first began regularly appearing in newspapers around the 1880s. Every December since then, newspapers across the nation have published children’s heartfelt letters as a celebration of the season. Wausau Pilot & Review is continuing that tradition this Christmas. By publishing these messages, we hope to spread joy by sharing the words of the children in our community, whose wishes and dreams are inspirational in themselves.

Writing letters to Santa is an age-old tradition. Children are encouraged to write their letters to Santa and send them to us. The newspaper will publish letters received in a special section on Dec. 24.

Teachers and schools are encouraged to send letters from students as well. For example, elementary schools throughout the country have taken the opportunity to teach students about letter-writing and then send each class’s letters for publication in local newspapers. Email editor@wausaupilotandreview.com for details.

Letters may be emailed to editor@wausaupilotandreview.com, entered in our online form or mailed to Santa in care of Wausau Pilot & Review, 500 N. Third St., Wausau, WI 54403. Please include the age of the child writing the letter. In order for letters to be published, we must receive them no later than 5 p.m. on Dec. 22. Handwritten letters may be scanned for publication purposes and artwork is encouraged – after all, children’s drawings are as much a delight as the letters themselves.

Fill out the form below to submit letters and artwork. Happy holidays to all!

Wausau Pilot & Review staff

As Thanksgiving approaches, many American families anticipate the warmth of shared meals and cherished traditions. However, in today’s polarized political climate, these gatherings can also become arenas for contentious debates, potentially straining familial bonds.

Experts offer strategies to help families navigate these challenges, ensuring that the holiday remains a time of gratitude and connection.

Understanding the Challenge

Political differences have always existed within families, but recent years have seen these divides deepen. A 2023 Quinnipiac University poll revealed that 61% of voters hoped to avoid discussing politics during holiday gatherings, highlighting a widespread desire to sidestep potential conflicts.

“Surveys show that most people look at these sort of Thanksgiving political discussions with dread,” said Jennifer Wolak, a political science professor at Michigan State University who studies the psychology of compromise. “Most people say they hope to avoid having political conversations because they’re conflictual, they’re argumentative. And people also carry these really strong stereotypes about the other party.”

Strategies for Harmonious Gatherings

1. Set Clear Boundaries

Establishing guidelines before the gathering can prevent unwanted political debates. Discussing and agreeing upon topics to avoid can help maintain a peaceful atmosphere. “Perhaps even having an honest conversation with your loved ones before the holiday meal or activity begins [and] to say ‘Is it possible that we could leave some of these differences at the door?’” Natalie Hernandez, Senior Director at Penn State’s counseling and psychological services, told Fox43.

2. Practice Active Listening

When political topics arise, listening without immediate judgment can foster understanding. Engaging with genuine curiosity about others’ perspectives can de-escalate potential conflicts. “Go in with a genuine curiosity and willingness to listen,” said Todd Schenk, an associate professor at Virginia Tech.

3. Focus on Shared Values

Highlighting commonalities rather than differences can strengthen familial bonds. Discussing shared experiences, traditions, and values can redirect conversations toward unity. “Thinking about funny family stories and past vacations or trips or experiences you’ve had … think about some of these topics that might allow you to feel that sense of connection without engaging in conflict,” rElizabeth Dorrance Hall, a communication professor at Michigan State University, told Bridge Michigan.

4. Choose the Right Time and Place

Sensitive discussions are best held in private, away from the larger group setting. This approach allows for more thoughtful and less confrontational exchanges. “A very sensitive conversation is best not done in front of jeering friends or family,” Schenk added.

5. Agree to Disagree

Recognizing that changing someone’s deeply held beliefs over a single meal is unlikely can reduce frustration. Accepting differing opinions without attempting to convert others can preserve harmony. “Persuasion is possible and a common reason for engagement,” Schenk said. “However, it is difficult and, when it happens, typically the result of sustained dialogue.”

The Role of Empathy and Respect

Empathy plays a crucial role in navigating political differences. Understanding the experiences and values that shape others’ beliefs can lead to more compassionate interactions. “There’s no reason that your MAGA uncle and your woke niece can’t sit down together around the table and have a conversation,” said Colorado Governor Jared Polis, co-head of the National Governors Association’s “Disagree Better” initiative.

When to Avoid Political Discussions

In some cases, steering clear of political topics may be the best course of action, especially if past experiences suggest that such discussions lead to conflict. Focusing on neutral subjects like family stories, hobbies, or shared interests can keep the atmosphere light and enjoyable. “Sometimes the holidays are one of the few times of the year that families get together… Rather than have conversations about politics, it can be comforting to reminisce over family stories and memories,” Hall added.

Conclusion

Thanksgiving offers an opportunity to celebrate togetherness and gratitude. By approaching political differences with empathy, respect, and thoughtful communication, families can ensure that their gatherings remain a source of joy and connection, even in a divided political landscape.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

An impassive portrait of George Washington watched Tuesday’s Election Day proceedings from his perch above the entrance of Westfield Town Hall.

Washington’s expression offered no hint that the Marquette County, Wisconsin, town was recovering from political tumult: fierce divisions on a three-member board that culminated in September when voters ousted their town chair in a recall election.

Westfield’s election inspector and chief election inspector soon resigned, along with its treasurer and a town supervisor. The same evening the board approved those resignations, the town clerk, that meeting’s notetaker, handed in her notice.

None of the resignees nor the former board chair, Sharon Galonski, responded to requests for comment for this story.

Several news outlets, including the Associated Press, reported the events, prompting questions about how the resignations might affect Westfield’s preparation for the general election.

But interim Town Clerk Courtney Trimble said the media blew the situation out of proportion. Volunteers immediately stepped forward following the poll workers’ resignations. Trimble said she had a list of 12 who offered their names.

“I’m confident in their ability,” she said Tuesday. “These elections always feel — I don’t want to say ‘pressure’ — there’s more training that you put in.”

‘Hopefully, tomorrow the commercials will stop!’

Westfield’s polling place occupies its white clapboard-clad town hall, surrounded by cornfields and conifers. The converted one-room schoolhouse dates to the mid-1800s, and chalkboards line its interior walls. Scotch-Irish settlers, attracted by the area’s fertile soil and nearby springs, founded the community.

Here, voters trend conservative. During the 2020 election, they handily handed then-incumbent President Donald Trump 333 votes — nearly two-thirds of ballots cast.

Election greeter Chris Vander Velde stood at the hall’s entrance Tuesday, directing voters to wait in the foyer. They shuffled to the registration table, where poll workers Frank Traina and Susan Porfilio sat. Those caught in the day’s periodic downpours squeaked on the hall’s wooden floors.

Such orderly proceedings were unlike the tempest 2024 presidential cycle, marked by the unexpected withdrawal of President Joe Biden, two assassination attempts against Trump and the rapid ascent of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.

“Hopefully, tomorrow the commercials will stop!” said one voter who arrived mid-morning in a white and black plaid shirt and sparkly flip-flops.

She and Vander Velde laughed.

Behind her librarian glasses, Porfilio instructed electors to sign the register before continuing to the four voting booths arranged along the room’s perimeter.

The morning hustle? Distinctly ordinary.

One voter forgot her photo identification but returned later with the card in tow. A smiling man’s registration incorrectly appended the suffix “Sr.” to his name.

“I have no idea why,” he told Porfilio.

Traina checked IDs and reminded people the ballot was double-sided with the school referendum on the back

“Thank you for working the polls,” a voter in a maroon windbreaker told him.

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” Traina said. With every flick of his arm, his “In God we trust” tattoo peeked out from under his Harley-Davidson T-shirt.

Residents of all ages flocked to the polls.

“No ID?” Traina jokingly asked a curly-haired kid, waiting, as their family signed in.

The child mumbled, hands in pockets.

Later, a young woman in a red raincoat and glasses stepped before Porfilio.

“Have you ever voted here before?” Susan asked.

“No, it’s my first time voting in general,” the woman said.

By 10:30 a.m., over half the town’s electorate had cast ballots, including absentee and early voters.

Porfilio chatted with a man in a Lake Michigan shirt. She checked his voter number.

“And I’ll give you your license back,” Porfilio said.

“You heard my house burnt down, right?” he said.

“No!” she said. “When was that? Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah,” he muttered.

‘Take our township back!’

Across the room, Chief Election Inspector Lacey Baumann supervised the Dominion ballot drop box, the last stop on the voters’ town hall circuit.

Baumann awoke at 3:30 a.m. to milk her 53 goats so she could be at the town hall by 6 a.m., an hour before the polls opened. What started as a COVID-19 pandemic pastime became a side hustle, where she and her family make soaps, lotions, laundry detergent, bath salts and lip balm.

“I just want to confirm that there are two initials on the backside box of your ballot,” she told a woman in sweatpants. “You’re gonna put it in the machine where the arrows are. When you hear the second ‘ding,’ you’ll be good to go.”

Lacey’s twin sister, Lindsay Baumann, won Westfield’s recall election in September. Her campaign pledged to “take our township back!” and she bested Galonski by 32 votes.

From the first meeting in 2023 when its members were sworn in, turmoil marked Westfield’s town board. Members sparred during meetings. Discussion routinely veered into accusations of malfeasance.

The recall petition charged Galonski with a litany of offenses, including initiating the termination of the volunteer fire department without considering citizen input and consulting the town board, spending taxpayer dollars in excess and denying a board supervisor access to town property.

At an August board meeting, Galonski defended her actions and rejected one attendee’s call to resign to spare the town the cost of a recall election.

“I haven’t done anything wrong — not a thing. Everything has been done according to the law and by vote of the board,” Galonski said. “The majority of the board has taken action on many of the things that you want to do a recall on.”

‘It’s our right. It’s our privilege’

Voters continued to stream into Westfield’s town hall for the rest of the day. The town reached another turnout milestone.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Vander Velde said. “It’s our right. It’s our privilege. It’s our responsibility.”

Vander Velde, who moved to Westfield more than three decades ago, enjoys chatting with fellow residents on Election Day, but another reason she enjoys working the polls is the chance to learn the rules and regulations. She calls herself a “law and order person.”

“Government is really of the people,” Vander Velde said. “The people in this township are really good, close people, and you expect your government to respond that way.”

As anxious Americans awaited news of the presidency’s fate, Baumann, the town’s newly elected chair, said she felt the political slugfest in her community was over.

“It seems like there’s a lot more happier people,” she said. “We’re getting somewhere.”

‘Nowhere else I’d rather be’: An ordinary Election Day follows town’s extraordinary turmoil is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Good morning, Wisconsin. It’s Election Day — and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Voters here in Wisconsin will help pick the next president, choose a U.S. senator, send eight people to the U.S. House, elect state representatives and senators, decide whether to amend the state constitution and weigh in on scores of local ballot referendums.

Polls open at 7 a.m. in Wisconsin and close at 8 p.m. If you are still in line at 8 p.m. and haven’t yet had a chance to vote, stay in line. You will still be able to cast a ballot.

Even though the polls close at 8 p.m. here, expect it to be at least a few hours — and possibly longer — to get definitive unofficial results. Wisconsin is one of seven battleground states that will determine the outcome of the election. Here’s when polls close in the other six, but just like here, don’t expect to know who won each of these states right away.

All times listed in Central Standard Time: 

• Arizona: 8 p.m.
• Georgia: 6 p.m.
• Michigan: 7 p.m.
• Nevada: 9 p.m.
• North Carolina: 6:30 p.m.
• Pennsylvania: 7 p.m.

If someone declares victory shortly after polls close — especially in the presidential election — be extremely skeptical. In 2020 former President Donald Trump declared victory while millions of votes still needed to be counted. And, as has been well documented, President Joe Biden won that election. Trump could once again prematurely — and potentially baselessly — claim victory again this year, with some members of his orbit urging the former president to address voters even earlier on election night than in 2020.

It’s important to remember that the results reported on election night are unofficial. At Wisconsin Watch, we look to the Associated Press and other reputable news organizations for our race calls. 

The vote counting process will take time and varies by municipality in Wisconsin. Local election officials pick where absentee ballots are counted.

In most places, including Madison, absentee ballots that have been cast will be distributed to the polling location across the city where a voter would have cast a ballot in person to be tabulated throughout the day. In others, like Milwaukee and Green Bay, absentee votes are tallied in a central location.

Counting votes takes time. When counting absentee ballots, poll workers have to announce who cast a ballot, check the voter’s name off a poll list, open the ballot envelope, unpack the ballot and feed it into a tabulator, per the Journal Sentinel.

However, there are fewer absentee ballots this year than in 2020, which could help speed up election night returns. Election officials in Milwaukee are predicting that tabulation will be faster this year than in 2020, but still cautioned it will be a late night.

Finally, control of the Assembly is up for grabs, something that could upend the status quo of Wisconsin politics. Read more about the races that could determine which party wins a majority here. 

— Jack Kelly

Hitch a ride to your polling place

Need a ride to the polls? Here are a few options.

• The Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition has put together lists of statewide transportation resources for voters.
• In Milwaukee, Kenosha and Racine, Souls to the Polls is offering free, round-trip rides to polling locations. Call their hotline at 414-742-1060 to book a ride.
• Using the code VOTE24, 50% off of a ride to a polling location, up to a maximum of $10, will be covered by rideshare company Lyft. Rival Uber offers the same discount, accessible through the “Go Vote” option in the Uber mobile app. Additionally, e-scooter company Lime will be offering free rides of up to 30 minutes to a polling location in Milwaukee.

— Julius Shieh

1.5 million have voted so far. Here’s what it means for election night.

In 2020, a lot was made of a so-called “red mirage” or “blue shift.” 

On election night, millions of Americans went to bed with former President Donald Trump leading among returns, only for them to wake up to Joe Biden having surpassed him in some states after large, mostly Democratic cities like Milwaukee processed absentee ballots into the early morning hours of Wednesday.

Trump used his election night lead to baselessly claim that he won the election. Eventually, on social media, he demanded that election workers “STOP THE COUNT!” as his paths to victory evaporated.

The delay in reporting election results was attributed to the massive increase in absentee ballots cast in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic — which broke heavily for Democrats. That wasn’t surprising given in the months leading up to Election Day, Trump questioned the validity of absentee voting. Some 1.9 million people voted via an absentee ballot in Wisconsin in 2020, far surpassing previous records, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

As of Nov. 4, a little over 1.5 million absentee ballots have been cast in Wisconsin. At the same time in 2020, more than 1.8 million absentee ballots had been returned.

Historically, with the exception of 2020, about 20% of Wisconsin general election voters in presidential election years voted via absentee ballots. This usually ranges from 600,000 to 800,000 votes. In 2024, the state broke a million votes on Oct. 30.

When counting absentee ballots, poll workers have to announce who cast a ballot, check the voter’s name off a poll list, open the ballot envelope, unpack the ballot and feed it into a tabulator. That process takes time, especially in communities like Milwaukee where absentee ballots are counted in a single location.

Five communities across the state swapped to central absentee ballot counts in 2024. In full, 39 cities, towns or villages use the centralized system. The cities of Milwaukee and Kenosha were the first to adopt this method, in 2007 and 2008 respectively. As of Nov. 4, there are a little over 400,000 absentee votes cast in municipalities that use the centralized system. 

Despite fewer absentee ballots being cast, election officials are still warning that it will be a late night.

“I don’t think it’ll be that bad,” Paulina Gutiérrez, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, told WisPolitics.com about when to expect results from the city after polls close. “But it won’t be like a smaller election, and so it will be a late night.”

– Jack Kelly and Khushboo Rathore

Early voting in a nursing home: ‘It’s going to make a difference’ 

Arlene Meyer says she’s voted in every election since she was 21 — the legal voting age until 1971. Last month she cast her 17th vote for president from her nursing home. 

“It was excellent,” Meyer said Friday. “Everybody had a chance to vote for whoever they wanted to.”

Local election officials brought voting machines into Pine Crest Nursing Home in Merrill, Wisconsin, weeks before election day. If a municipal clerk receives at least five absentee ballot requests from nursing home residents, special voting deputies can be sent into that facility to collect residents’ votes, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

The return of special deputies to nursing homes ahead of Election Day marks one clear difference from 2020, an election shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Backers of former President Donald Trump thrust nursing home voters into efforts to delegitimize President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman’s partisan investigation of the election identified a couple of cases of people in nursing homes who had voted despite a court adjudicating them “incompetent” and removing their voting rights.

Special voting deputies didn’t visit nursing homes in 2020, because WEC’s bipartisan members waived rules requiring them, seeking to limit COVID-19’s spread to vulnerable seniors. That meant nursing home staff were tasked with helping residents fill out ballots.

Trump’s allies seized on that context to baselessly claim thousands of adjudicated incompetent voters may have had votes cast in their name. A Wisconsin Watch investigation later found those claims to be dramatically inflated, though it also found the state lacks a statutorily defined system for ensuring those ruled mentally incompetent don’t vote. An attempt to create such a system failed to pass the state Senate earlier this year.

The issue even came up in the U.S. Senate race between Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican challenger Eric Hovde, who in April while discussing potential voting irregularities said, “if you’re in a nursing home, you only have five, six months’ life expectancy. Almost nobody in a nursing home is in a point to vote.”

Meyer, a former Lincoln County Board Supervisor, said she remained fully competent to mark her ballot in this election.

“I’m 86 and mentally stable,” she said with a chuckle. 

A bag of library books, most about history, sat next to her recliner. Her typical day at the nursing home starts with watching the news.

“I like to see what’s happening in the world,” Meyer said. 

Asked why voting still felt important, Meyer responded: “Everything a politician does, it’s going to affect everybody, including me, even though I’m not out working or anything else. But yes, I think it’s very, very important, and I want to know what’s going on. … I got children here, I got grandchildren here. I got great grandchildren here, it’s going to make a difference.”

– Addie Costello

It’s Election Day! Follow our live coverage of what’s happening around Wisconsin is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Since the opening of a loophole that allows Wisconsin political parties to raise and distribute unlimited amounts, the record has been broken many times. A race in the northern Milwaukee suburbs set it this year.

By Peter Cameron, THE BADGER PROJECT

The fundraising in the race for 8th Senate District has blown past the previous record for most expensive race in the history of the Wisconsin State Legislature.

In a perfect storm of the Wisconsin State Legislature becoming competitive this year after the end of Republican gerrymandering and the state Democratic Party’s huge advantage in fundraising, a total of nine races have broken the previous record for most expensive race in the state legislature, previously set in 2020.

But the campaign cash in the 8th Senate District towers above all others.

Republican state Sen. Duey Stroebel and his Democratic opponent, attorney Jodi Habush Sinykin — running for the hyper-competitive 8th Senate District, which includes the northern Milwaukee suburbs of Grafton, Menomonee Falls and Whitefish Bay — have raised more than $7 million combined, nearly double the next highest. But that total comes with a large asterisk. Most of the $5.2 million Habush Sinykin has raised came from one source: the state Democratic Party.

THE MOST EXPENSIVE RACES IN THE HISTORY OF THE WISCONSIN STATE LEGISLATURE

YEAR	DISTRICT	RAISED	LOCATION
2024	SENATE 8th	$7,119,902	northern Milwaukee suburbs
2024	SENATE 14th	$4,169,029	much of Richland, Sauk and Columbia counties north of Dane County
2024	SENATE 30th	$4,014,911	Green Bay and surrounding areas
2024	ASSEMBLY 21st	$3,349,656	southern Milwaukee County
2024	ASSEMBLY 61st	$3,323,417	southwestern Milwaukee County
2024	ASSEMBLY 89th	$2,759,425	western Green Bay suburbs
2024	ASSEMBLY 30th	$2,701,672	Hudson and River Falls
2024	ASSEMBLY 85th	$2,505,556	Wausau and surrounding areas
2024	ASSEMBLY 53rd	$2,471,297	Neenah and Menasha
2020	SENATE 8th	$2,441,483
2020	SENATE 30th	$2,269,214
2024	ASSEMBLY 88th	$2,240,193	eastern Green Bay suburbs including De Pere
2020	SENATE 32nd	$2,212,270
2024	ASSEMBLY 94th	$2,139,415	northern La Crosse suburbs
2024	ASSEMBLY 26th	$1,925,778	Sheboygan and surrounding areas
2020	SENATE 24th	$1,906,723
2024	SENATE 18th	$1,653,101	Oshkosh and Appleton
2022	ASSEMBLY 94th	$1,591,031
2018	SENATE 17th	$1,476,981
2022	SENATE 31st	$1,418,454

The attorney from Whitefish Bay has only raised about $700,000 from donors outside the state party. Her father, the prominent Milwaukee-area attorney Robert L. Habush, has given nearly $800,000 to the state Democratic Party in this election cycle.

Stroebel has raised a total of nearly $1.9 million, with more than $1.1 million coming from the state Republican Party. He also donated $200,000 to his own campaign.

The route for that massive party support comes through a loophole in campaign finance law in Wisconsin.

Individuals, other candidates and political action committees can only give a candidate for state Senate $2,000 per election cycle, according to state campaign finance law.

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But due to a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court case called McCutcheon v. FEC and inaction by the Republican-controlled state Legislature, no limits exist on political parties receiving or distributing political cash.

So billionaires like ABC Supply co-founder Diane Hendricks, ULINE co-founder Elizabeth Uihlein, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Hyatt Hotells heir and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker have repeatedly used the loophole to funnel huge sums to their preferred party. They have all given millions of dollars to Wisconsin political parties in this election cycle alone.

Thus campaign spending has exploded in state races since the opening of the loophole, leading to airwaves and mailboxes jammed ever more full with political advertising each election.

Democrats in the state Legislature have offered bills to close that loophole, but the Republican majority has ignored them. So Democrats have taken a different tactic in recent elections: using the loophole to their advantage. The state party has raised nearly $57 million in the 2024 election cycle, compared to just $29 million for the state Republican Party.

That translates into major advertising advantages for Democrats in tight state legislative races across the state.

They hope it will allow them to take back the state Legislature for the first time in more than a decade.

The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.

The post FINAL REPORT: Most expensive race in history of Wis Legislature sits at $7 mil+ appeared first on The Badger Project.

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FINAL REPORT: Most expensive race in history of Wis Legislature sits at $7 mil+ was first posted on November 4, 2024 at 5:00 am.

Every four years, national media turn their attention to the Rust Belt, a term that describes Midwestern industrial and manufacturing states whose economies were decimated by the decline of those industries in the 1970s. This region contains the coveted states of Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Many rural parts of these states have a majority of white residents. The broader Rust Belt, however, also has long and important Black and Indigenous histories and contains some of the nation’s fastest-growing minority populations – in particular Latino, Arab and Asian communities.

Yet when reporters descend on the rural Rust Belt to understand voters, the people they talk to are almost exclusively white.

I am a geographer who studies the experiences of communities of color in the rural Rust Belt. Rural is a relative term, but when it comes to policy research, it usually refers to nonmetropolitan areas. From 2021 to 2023, I interviewed 35 people who live or lived in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Indiana and identified as Black, Indigenous or people of color.

I found that these Rust Belt residents have pressing concerns of political importance. Some of these issues are shared by white residents – and, as such, are well documented. But Rust Belt residents of color have additional problems that politicians and the media have long overlooked.

Local impacts

My interviewees described typical rural Rust Belt struggles.

They complained of limited internet access, few or no grocery stores, declining roads and other infrastructure-related challenges. Jobs and opportunities for career advancement were scarce in their communities, while death and suicide rates were high.

These difficulties are faced by white Rust Belt residents as well. But other struggles they mentioned are less often considered part of the rural experience.

They described feeling socially isolated and discriminated against at work and school. Many had experienced racial or ethnic profiling by potential employers and police and been verbally harassed.

One man, Miguel, who worked in carpentry, said his colleagues openly used racial slurs against him.

“I was putting away some boxes, and they said, ‘Oh that’s because you w–backs are good at packing things in trucks,’” he told me.

All names used here are pseudonyms; research ethics require me to protect the identity of my subjects.

“A lot gets brushed under the rug,” said Bao, a Vietnamese American woman whose father also works in a hostile environment. “All the management folks are white,” so “if you speak up, you lose your job or are ignored.”

These comments conveyed an overall sense of not “belonging.”

As one woman from rural Pennsylvania explained, people regularly ask her, “No, really, where you from?”

“They want to hear ‘Asian’ or ‘Korean,’” she said. “It’s very uncomfortable for me.”

These racial tensions worsen during election periods. Some people I interviewed reported having been turned away or threatened at voting stations – harassment they attributed to their religious, cultural and political backgrounds, or the way they looked.

Many Rust Belt voters of color already lack political power because they live in racially gerrymandered districts. When news coverage of the region ignores their voices, too, it compounds that feeling of not belonging.

In 2017, The Washington Post visited the small town of Jefferson, Ohio, in Ashtabula County, to interview voters described as “rural Americans who fear they’re being forgotten” after Donald Trump’s election. Their coverage focused almost exclusively on white residents.

“How did you go to Ashtabula County and not see Black people?” asked Belle, a resident who identified as African American.

Not always Republican

In the past three presidential elections, Ashtabula County has followed state trends: It backed Obama in 2008 and 2012, then voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020.

Trump won Ashtabula with 60% of the vote in 2020. That’s 26,890 votes, which means that 16,497 people still voted for Democrat Joe Biden. In the years since, Ashtabula County residents have also voted with the state in two Democratic-backed initiatives: to protect abortion rights and legalize marijuana.

In other words, just because a state or district backs a Republican for president doesn’t mean everyone is Republican, or that Republican voters always vote the party line. They can split their votes, and have.

Even Ohio’s largely Republican delegation in the House of Representatives is misleading about the state’s political makeup. Ohio is a heavily gerrymandered state where voting districts have been drawn to benefit Republican candidates.

U.S. Senate elections show more diversity in Ohio’s voting base.

In 2018, Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown won 53% of all votes in Ohio, including 51% of those cast in Ashtabula County. Four years later, both the state and Ashtabula County picked Republican JD Vance over Democrat Tim Ryan to replace the outgoing Republican Sen. Rob Portman.

Why it matters

In September 2024, Vance – now Trump’s vice presidential running mate – claimed that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were kidnapping and eating cats and dogs. After Trump echoed that false claim on the debate stage, the city got 30-plus bomb threats and other threats of violence, and had to close multiple schools.

During the pandemic, Trump’s derogatory branding of COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus” and “Kung Flu” led to increased hate crimes against immigrants and people of color.

In my interviews, several participants mentioned how local restaurants and stores owned by Asian Americans had been vandalized. One woman, Lanh, who lived outside Springfield, said her favorite restaurant had to close.

“They started vandalizing the restaurant, writing graffiti and set the restaurant on fire,” she said.

The owners were from Thailand, but, Lanh said, the vandals “thought they were Chinese. Folks around the local community like my parents didn’t feel safe,” she added. “I didn’t feel safe.”

Hateful political rhetoric is known to increase hate crimes against immigrants and people of color.

When the Rust Belt is stereotyped as red and white, such experiences go unheard.

So do some good news stories.

The emergence of Black-owned bee farms in northeast Ohio, for instance, is one small example in a host of businesses started by people of color. Together, they are helping to boost the region’s beleaguered economy, much as Haitian immigrants have been fueling Springfield’s growth.

Rural America is nuanced

Nationwide, 24% of rural Americans identified as people of color in the 2020 census.

That figure is probably low because the census tends to undercount nonwhite respondents – a problem that was particularly evident in 2020. Even so, that’s a quarter of rural residents who don’t fit the national stereotype of rural America.

Rural America is white and Republican. It’s also trans, queer, Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, South Asian, Democratic and much more. Even if some are Republican, they still aren’t the rural Rust Belt Republicans portrayed in the national media.

Ignoring these nuances reinforces stereotypes that the rural Rust Belt is the exclusive domain of white conservativism. But this region isn’t now, and never has been, simply red and white.

Christabel Devadoss received funding from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).

By Shereen Siewert

A Wausau couple has filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission alleging that the city’s official drop box does not meet state standards, according to documents obtained by Wausau Pilot & Review.

Steven and Marie Schmidt filed the complaint Oct. 10 with the WEC, which has since acknowledged receipt of the document. In their official statement, the couple said they also submitted their concerns on Oct. 2 in a PDF document that was not included in the Oct. 8 Wausau City Council meeting packet. That omission is prompting the Republican Party of Marathon County to call for the dismissal of City Clerk Kaitlyn Bernarde, Chair Kevin Hermening wrote.

The WEC on Oct. 23 acknowledged receipt of the complaint. Bernarde has until Nov. 11 to respond. If a response is received, the Schmidts will have an additional 13 days to submit a final reply.

Wausau Mayor Doug Diny in September removed the locked drop box from outside City Hall, action that made headlines nationwide and prompted a federal criminal investigation. The box, which Bernarde had plans to formally install one day later, has since been returned and is now operational.

The Schmidts’ complaint accuses Bernarde of not following appropriate rules and procedures when installing the drop box, which also accepts tax payments and other forms of communication for the city. After a July state Supreme Court ruling allowing the drop boxes, the Wisconsin Elections Commission issued guidance to the state’s roughly 1,800 municipal clerks recommending more than a dozen security practices related to the boxes.

The instructions, which are not hard rules, include that they be “affixed to the ground or the side of the building,” “sturdy enough to withstand the elements,” “located in a well-lit area,” “equipped with unique locks or seals” and “emptied often.”

The commission recommended that clerks keep a record of the times and dates of retrieval, number of ballots retrieved and the names of the people doing the retrieving.

The group also referred clerks to federal guidelines.

The complainants point out that Wausau’s box has an opening that is larger than recommended, accepts more than just absentee ballots, is not clearly marked as a ballot box and does not include a posted time of final ballot retrieval. They also point out that the box is not in a well-lit area, and complain that Diny’s request for $3,000 to fund lighting and a new camera for the box was dismissed by the council earlier this month, a decision he could have made unilaterally.

Diny also pointed out that the box had not yet been firmly secured to the concrete at the time he removed it from outside City Hall, citing that as a basis for its removal. But the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision did not provide guidance on what it means for a drop box to be secure, according to information from Joel DeSpain, of the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

“The Commission recommends that clerks keep the following non-exhaustive security considerations in mind when planning to utilize drop boxes, which are consistent with guidance from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA),” the WEC guidance states. “These considerations are merely a starting point—the Commission recommends that clerks thoroughly complete a security assessment for each intended drop box location prior to deployment.”

Some council members say Diny’s funding request was yet another way to politicize the argument surrounding the drop box. Diny can make such purchases without council approval but did not do so in the weeks and months leading into the controversy. City Council President Lisa Rasmussen said last month that council members were unwilling to be placed in a position to operate beyond their authority.

“The finance director advised the mayor he did not need council approval, there was funding and no modification to any budget was needed,” Rasmussen told WSAU. “We should not be asked to decide issues that do not require our approval just to give him political cover.”

Legal and election experts say the guidance for clerks regarding drop box placement, signage and usage is just that – guidance – not hard, set rules. That means the “violations” pointed out by the Schmidts in their complaint violate guidance only, not state election law, raising questions about what – if any – action can be taken by the WEC.

Bernarde did not respond to requests for comment. Information provided by DeSpain in response to an email from Wausau Pilot pointed again to guidance, not state law.

On Friday, Diny told Wausau Pilot he was unaware of the complaint and had been in Madison for a League of Municipalities Annual Conference, where he found “overwhelming support from leaders statewide.”

Diny is facing potential federal charges amid a Wisconsin Department of Justice investigation that launched last month. An Oct. 16 search warrant, obtained by Wausau Pilot & Review, authorized agents to seize Diny’s computer and cell phone as well as his wife’s phone. Agents are searching for evidence dating back to April 1, prior to his swearing-in as mayor “because evidence in this case suggests the drop box discussion initiated” before he took office, documents state.

The DOJ does not comment on pending investigations and there is no set timeline as to when a charging decision will be made.

Diny, in an email Friday, said he has not had any communication with the DOJ since Oct. 16.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice is spearheading the Diny investigation. The DOJ typically handles federal law violations, while local district attorneys focus on state law violations.

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• Republicans and Democrats are looking to college as a key part of their strategy for electing their presidential and Senate candidates with the candidates making several appearances on college campuses in Wisconsin.

• College students voting in their first presidential election are slightly more conservative than their older counterparts, but there’s also a growing gender gap with women more likely to support Democrats.

• A new College Democrats chapter at Madison College seeks to mobilize more students on a campus that often gets overlooked.

With Election Day squarely in view, both Democrats and Republicans have shifted their focus to turning out every possible voter — including first-time presidential election voters on college campuses.

Every vote matters in Wisconsin. The last two presidential races in this critical battleground state have each been decided by about 21,000 votes, or 1%. And next week’s contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump could be even closer, with polls in Wisconsin and other battleground states suggesting there’s little daylight separating the rivals.

Those margins of victory happen to be less than half the number of students currently enrolled at just UW-Madison. It’s also just a fraction of the more than 160,000 four-year students at UW System campuses and Marquette University as of the start of the 2024-25 academic year — and that doesn’t include the thousands of other students who attend smaller private institutions spread across Wisconsin. 

Many of those students come from out of state, establish residency on or near campus and are eligible to vote — establishing a bulky pool of potential voters for campaigns to target. On UW System campuses in 2023, for example, some 51,000 students were from states other than Wisconsin. As of the start of this school year, 57% of Marquette’s 11,300 non-international students were from out of state.

College students could be the margin maker in the presidential race. With eight days to go, both sides are responding accordingly.

Democrats invest in college campuses

Trudging through a hilly Madison neighborhood, Joey Wendtland and Ty Schanhofer, a pair of UW-Madison students, were on a mission: Win votes for Democrats.

Earnestly, the two, along with a small group of other student volunteers, knocked on doors up and down the streets immediately west of the university’s towering football stadium in a neighborhood home to a mixture of students and non-students.

Each encounter with a resident followed the same formula: Do you have plans to vote? Who are you voting for? What issues do you care about most? Here’s where Kamala Harris stands on them.

“Three votes per ward was the difference in 2020,” Wendtland told one voter as he implored her to get three friends to vote — a nod to President Joe Biden’s narrow victory in the state four years ago.

Democrats are investing heavily this year in turning out students on college campuses. The Wisconsin Democratic coordinated campaign, a collaboration between the Harris campaign and the state Democratic Party, has seven full-time organizers dedicated to college campuses across Wisconsin in addition to a youth organizing director, a Harris campaign official told Wisconsin Watch. Many of those organizers have been on campuses since the fall of 2023, looking to build relationships with local College Democrats chapters, student volunteers and allied student organizations.

Over the past year, the coordinated campaign has also been experimenting with a “relational organizing program,” the official said. Using a smartphone app, students are able to import their existing contacts and communicate with their friends, sharing material from a content library of premade, Wisconsin-specific infographics, videos and even memes about Harris and the presidential race.

Peer-to-peer organizing is the most effective way to motivate college voters, several student activists told Wisconsin Watch.

“The most effective way to get young people on your side — and what we’ve seen in the past election cycles — is just young people talking to young people,” said Matthew Lehner, chair of College Democrats of Wisconsin and a senior at UW-Eau Claire.

College students are better able to engage with other college students because they care about the same issues, he added, pointing to climate change, gun control, increasing the minimum wage and abortion rights as issues that many young people have shared views on.

Wendtland, a senior and chair of College Democrats of UW-Madison, said it was critical to “meet students where they’re at” and “talk to them about the issues they care about.”

But it’s also important “to generate that enthusiasm among our student base,” he said. 

UW-Madison College Democrats has hosted events with prominent Madison-area Democrats, like U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan and state Rep. Francesca Hong, to get people excited about next week’s election, Wendtland said. The group has also hosted more casual events, including bingo nights and bracelet-making events, to provide a forum for students to gather and get energized about the Democratic ticket.

Democrats are also hoping to make inroads on campuses that haven’t been front of mind in past elections. A College Democrats chapter was formed last spring at Madison Area Technical College and now has around 50 members, according to Kai Brito, a founding member of the student organization.

In previous election cycles, Brito said, he and other students at MATC felt like they had been forgotten and that they didn’t have a voice in politics.

“But now we’re saying, ‘No, we do.’ And I think it’s really important when you have someone taking the lead and saying, “Yeah, we have a voice, and we’re going to use it,’” he said. “I think we’re going to have hopefully a much higher turnout than we would have if we didn’t exist, because we’re keeping the conversation alive on campus.”

College Republicans push forward, face hurdles

Even during a busy afternoon on the campus, few students approached the College Republicans table at UW-Madison, an overwhelmingly liberal campus. A pair of students snagged Trump signs, and others accepted fliers for an upcoming event with U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde. One student, who said he studies nuclear engineering, stopped to talk about Trump’s nuclear policy.

Getting students to vote Republican is more of an uphill battle on typically liberal college campuses. Undeterred, conservative student groups on campuses like UW-Madison and UW-Eau Claire press on with their efforts to appeal to young voters.

“A lot of the voters that we’re trying to get aren’t people who typically vote Democrat, but people who just typically don’t vote,” said Tatiana Bobrowicz, president of the UW-Eau Claire College Republicans.

In Madison, the student group has set up a table on campus nearly every day in the weeks leading up to the election. Thomas Pyle, a college senior and chair of the UW-Madison College Republicans, said their efforts have been greeted by glares and even protesters in years past. Bobrowicz said students passing by their table on UW-Eau Claire’s campus have flipped them off and harassed them. 

“Among Republicans, it’s more difficult, especially here at UW-Madison,” Pyle told Wisconsin Watch. “Having your voice heard, feeling comfortable in your vote and what you believe is really difficult when you’re surrounded by people who disagree with you.” 

Turning Point Action, College Republicans of America, Young Republicans, the American Conservation Coalition and Trump Force 47 are among the larger conservative groups that have been active across Wisconsin’s campuses this year. Student groups also draw funding and support from their county GOPs, the Republican Party of Wisconsin and the Tommy Thompson Center on Public Leadership. 

“It’s really the lose by less mentality,” Hilario Deleon, 23, chair of the Milwaukee County Republican Party, said of college voters. “We’re not going to win areas like Milwaukee outright, we’re not going to win Dane County outright, but if we increase our voter percentage even by a few points, we win the state.” 

Young people are concerned about jobs and the economy, making Trump an attractive candidate, according to Pyle. The Democratic Party “demonizes” young men, and they don’t feel welcome, Deleon said, adding that Trump’s message resonates with college students in the workforce.  

“I think it’s gotten the attention of a lot of students, especially those who work in the service industry with the no tax on tips, no tax on overtime,” Deleon said, referencing Trump’s proposals. “That’s huge. That’s a huge win for young voters.”

Bobrowicz said she and her colleagues are trying to make Republican politics more fun, akin to how young women have engaged with the Harris campaign through the vice president’s appearance on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast and Charli XCX campaign merch. From  friendship bracelets to catchy stickers, the GOP Eau Claire campus group is trying to make its conservative message appealing to young women. 

Meanwhile, Trump appeals to young men on his own, Bobrowicz said.

“(Trump’s) personality is a personality that attracts young men. He has that business-like personality,” she told Wisconsin Watch in an interview. “You can tell he was a former celebrity and has that catchy type personality that I think young men look up to in a sense, and find kind of fun.”

The UW-Eau Claire College Republicans also recently started a podcast called “Right on Campus” to attempt to reach young listeners. They discuss current issues and what it’s like to be conservative students on a liberal campus.

The student groups have also hosted events with Republican speakers, including former Gov. Thompson, Hovde, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, to get young voters engaged and energized. 

Finally, given the competitive nature of Wisconsin, Bobrowicz said, College Republicans often encourage out-of-state UW-Eau Claire students to vote in Wisconsin instead of in their home states, and they even try to get in-state students to vote in Eau Claire instead of their hometowns. 

Swirling political environment

The 2024 race comes at a politically unique time among young voters, who have exerted meaningful influence in recent high-profile elections in Wisconsin.

In 2022, young voters helped fuel Gov. Tony Evers’ reelection, which, at 3.4%, was a landslide by Wisconsin standards. Wisconsin had the highest young voter turnout in the country in 2022, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, with 48.7% of 18- to 24-year-olds casting a ballot in the election.

In April 2023, during a nationally watched Wisconsin Supreme Court race, turnout on certain college campuses exploded, according to a Washington Post analysis. The energy among young voters that spring, at least in part, helped fuel Justice Janet Protasiewicz’s commanding 11-point victory — which flipped the high court to liberal control.

But this year’s contest between Harris and Trump could feature a twist: America’s youngest voters, 18- to 24-year-olds, report being more conservative than voters even just a few years older than them.

In a Harvard Youth Poll released in September, 23% of 18- to 24-year-olds identified as conservative compared to 29% who identified as liberal. By comparison, just 19% of 25- to 29-year-olds identified as conservative while 33% identified as liberal.

There’s also a growing gender gap among young voters, according to a Gallup analysis. Between 2001 and 2007, 28% of women and 25% of men ages 18 to 29 identified as liberal. Jump ahead to the period between 2017 and 2024, and a 15-point gap appears: 40% of young women identify as liberal while just 25% of young men say the same thing.

The shifts could mean campaign messages from past cycles might not resonate on campuses the same way today. 

The 2024 campaign is unfolding as many Wisconsin Republicans have become increasingly hostile toward the UW System and college students. 

During the state’s most recent budget negotiations, Republican lawmakers cut the system’s funding by $32 million in an escalation of a fight over diversity, equity and inclusion programs and sendings on college campuses. They set funding aside for programs aimed at growing the state’s workforce and eventually provided it to the UW System in February 2024.

Late last year, some Republican lawmakers also signaled they didn’t want out-of-state students to vote in Wisconsin: They proposed legislation that would have required the UW System Board of Regents to provide first-year out-of-state students with an application to request a ballot to vote in their home states.

When asked whether Republican policies affecting the UW System impact students’ votes, Pyle and Bobrowicz, the College Republicans leaders, said most students likely aren’t aware of it. Deleon agreed, adding that he spoke out against the party’s attempts to discourage out-of-state college voters from voting in Wisconsin because it sends a bad message to young people. 

“These hostilities are happening because of their love for the state and because of their love for this institution,” Pyle said. “I think they’ve seen some issues with it in the past, and they want to do more to protect it, ensure our institution remains a world class institution… and that our taxpayers aren’t being stuck with a burden.” 

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‘Margin of victory’

In the waning days of the campaign, the focus on Wisconsin campuses has increased.

During a recent trip to Wisconsin, Harris held two events on UW campuses. First, she and billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban met with a class of UW-Milwaukee business students to discuss the vice president’s proposed economic policies. Then, later that day, she and Cuban held a UW-La Crosse rally that drew a crowd of 3,000, according to an estimate from her campaign.

Earlier this month, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic candidate for vice president, made a campaign stop at UW-Eau Claire with U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota.

Walz, who spoke to a group of students, was introduced by Kirsten Thell, president of the UW-Eau Claire College Democrats. Standing in front of a wall of “BLUGOLDS FOR HARRIS-WALZ” signs, Walz declared, “We need you. This is not a hyperbole. I think it’s very realistic to believe that this race will be won going through Wisconsin and going through some of these counties.”

On Wednesday, Harris will hold a get out the vote rally on UW-Madison’s campus, a campaign official confirmed to Wisconsin Watch. She’ll be joined by Gracie Abrams, Mumford & Sons and other musicians.

Prominent Republican voices have also zeroed in on college campuses. Conservative commentator and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk made a fiery visit to UW-Madison in September on the first stop of his “You’re Being Brainwashed” tour. He made another appearance over the weekend with the NELK Boys, a right-wing influencer group on YouTube. 

Kirk said 120 new voters were registered in just two hours during his first visit to the UW-Madison campus.

On Tuesday, Hovde will join American Conservation Coalition Action on UW-Madison’s campus for a campaign event focused on energy policy and the economy. Tony Wied, a Republican businessman who is running for the U.S. House in the Green Bay area, will hold an early voting event on the campus of St. Norbert College, a small Catholic college in De Pere.

And while the approach from both sides is different — a centralized, coordinated effort from Democrats while Republicans rely on grassroots and allied organizations — the flurry of recent campus events underscores how valuable the votes of college voters can be.

“College students will be the margin of victory in 2024,” Lehner, the UW-Eau Claire student and College Democrats leader, predicted. “So I think young people are enthusiastic about making their voice heard.”

Wisconsin Watch reporter Khushboo Rathore contributed reporting to this story.

College students could determine who wins Wisconsin — and the White House is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.