Aug 20, 2024, 7:00 AM CST
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MILWAUKEE, Wis (Civic Media) — Southeast Wisconsin takes center stage in the 2024 presidential race on Tuesday as both major parties’ nominees make campaign stops in the battleground state.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will hold a rally at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum, while Republican Sen. JD Vance addresses crime and safety issues in Kenosha. The dueling events underscore Wisconsin’s crucial role in the upcoming election.
Harris’s visit, her seventh to Wisconsin this year, comes amid the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The Harris-Walz campaign aims to capitalize on recent momentum, following large rallies in Eau Claire and Milwaukee County.
A preview of the Harris-Milwaukee address, released by the campaign, is below. It says the Wisconsin Democratic Coordinated Campaign reports record volunteer signups and over 600,000 voter contacts.
Harris and Walz are expected to highlight their plans for middle-class tax cuts and cost reduction, juxtaposing their vision against former President Donald Trump’s policies, which Democrats claim hurt Wisconsin workers.
After their 7pm speeches, the Democratic ticket plans to remain at Fiserv Forum to watch convention headliners, including former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, address the crowd in Chicago via livestream.
Meanwhile, Vance’s noon press conference in Kenosha, following a recent endorsement from the Milwaukee Police Association, will feature local Republican leaders such as U.S. Senate nominee Eric Hovde and Kenosha County Sheriff David Zoerner.
From: Brianna Johnson, Harris for President Wisconsin Communications Director
Subject: What to Know Before VP Harris Campaigns at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum
On Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz will travel from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum to rally Wisconsin voters. This marks Vice President Harris’ seventh visit to Wisconsin this year and her third since announcing her presidential campaign.
Thousands of Wisconsinites will welcome Vice President Harris and Governor Walz to the state as momentum continues to grow on the ground for the Harris-Walz ticket, following a 12,000-person rally in Eau Claire less than two weeks ago and an over 3,000-person rally in Milwaukee County just after the Harris campaign launched. The rally will reflect the historic energy we’re seeing on the ground – energy that our campaign is using to reach and mobilize the voters we need to win this November.
A Winning Campaign Capturing Momentum On the Ground
As the DNC energizes Democrats from across the country in Chicago, momentum is high for Vice President Harris and Governor Walz in Wisconsin. Since the Harris for President campaign launched, the Wisconsin Democratic Coordinated Campaign has seen record new volunteer signups and made over 600,000 door knocks and phone calls. We have more than 170 full-time staff working in 48 coordinated offices across 43 counties – including 32 counties that Trump won in 2020 – mobilizing volunteers in every corner of Wisconsin. Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is not doing the work needed to reach out to the voters needed to win in November, with recent reporting counting their staff across the entire state at just over 20.
Just last week, the Wisconsin Democratic Coordinated Campaign proved its strength during the Wisconsin primary on August 13th. A constitutional amendment power grab from MAGA Republicans was expected to pass – 12 of the last 13 Constitutional amendments in Wisconsin have – but it was defeated through organizing and get-out-the-vote efforts by the same team that is working to elect Vice President Harris and Governor Walz this fall.
Vice President Harris Is Fighting to Lower Costs and Keep Wisconsinites Safe
Vice President Harris’ leadership has delivered unprecedented funding, projects, and support for Wisconsin – which in turn helped create 180,000 jobs in the state and cut prices on ten vital prescription drugs for 1.3 million Wisconsin Medicare beneficiaries. In Milwaukee in particular, to keep residents safe, Vice President Harris and the administration have delivered $40 million to pay new officers, handle more 911 calls, and fund community policing. Their actions have helped lower homicides by 20% after an historic increase under Donald Trump.
But as Vice President made clear in her speech last Friday, her work to deliver for working families is just getting started. Building up the middle class will be the defining goal of her presidency – which is why, in her first 100 days in office, she will cut taxes for the middle class, reduce grocery store costs, and take on corporate price gouging when elected. These plans will address some of the sharpest pain points Wisconsin families are confronting.
It’s in stark contrast to Trump, who would raise taxes on working Wisconsinites to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations. His policies have already devastated Wisconsin workers – he lost 83,000 jobs in our state under his watch, discouraged union membership, and walked away from overtime protections for 120,000 Wisconsinites in 2019 alone. But his Project 2025 agenda is even worse – it will jack up prices, weaken the middle class, and cut Social Security, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act. And last week, Trump announced he’s planning to impose a whopping 20% across the board tax on all imported goods, hiking up costs for middle class families by nearly $4,000 a year.
Bottom Line: Tomorrow, Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walz will fire up Wisconsinites as they highlight the enthusiasm for Democrats up and down the ballot – and the contrast between a convicted felon who would drag this country backwards and make life more expensive for working families, and the Harris-Walz forward-looking vision of building the middle class and protecting every American’s freedoms. In November, Wisconsinites will send Vice President Harris and Governor Walz to the White House.
