The Capitol Report, produced by WisPolitics.com — a nonpartisan, Madison-based news service that specializes in coverage of government and politics — provides a weekly analysis of issues being debated in Wisconsin state government. It is underwritten by the WNA and produced exclusively for its members. WisPolitics.com President Jeff Mayers is a former editor and reporter for the Associated Press and a former political writer for the Wisconsin State Journal.
Hillary Clinton famously failed to visit Wisconsin in the 2016 campaign and lost the Badger State and the presidency to Donald Trump.
Neither 2024 ticket is going to make that mistake.
When it comes to campaign visits, both Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump are concentrating their efforts on Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to a WisPolitics review of campaign stops through Sept. 13.
The two states were the most visited by both campaigns of battleground states, though the campaigns visited Pennsylvania slightly more frequently than Wisconsin through mid-September. Harris is up 1.8 points over Trump in Wisconsin, while the two are tied in Pennsylvania, according to RealClearPolitics polling averages.
WisPolitics compiled a list of state visits by reviewing media coverage and social media posts and conferring with Harris and Trump’s campaigns to determine which states the campaigns have visited. The review was limited to campaign visits by Harris, Trump, and their running mates since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris’ campaign on July 21.
Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, had visited Pennsylvania six times, including a rally with Harris in Wilkes-Barre on Sept. 13. The campaign had visited Wisconsin five times since July 21, including Walz’s stop in Wausau on Sept. 13. He also visited UW-Superior for a rally on Sept. 14. And Harris chose the city of West Allis outside of Milwaukee for the first rally of her campaign, two days after she entered the race.
Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Brianna Johnson in a statement to WisPolitics touted the campaign’s infrastructure in the state.
“With more than 200 staff and 48 offices across 43 counties, we’re working to make sure Wisconsinites in every corner of the state understand the choice between Vice President Harris’ New Way Forward that protects freedoms and strengthens democracy, and Trump’s dangerous Project 2025 agenda, which seeks to give him unchecked power and control over our lives,” Johnson said.
Meanwhile, Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance, have campaigned in Pennsylvania seven times and six times in Wisconsin. Trump made his second Wisconsin stop since July 21 on Sept. 7 for a Mosinee rally.
Trump campaign spokesperson Jacob Fischer told WisPolitics Wisconsin is “a crucial state, which is why the Trump-Vance ticket continues to show up and address the kitchen table issues that are top of mind in Wisconsin households.”
“While Democrats continue to spend money like drunken sailors in far-fledged hopes of beating President Donald J. Trump this November, Republicans are working around the clock to share the commonsense agenda of Trump,” Fischer said.
Trump and Harris also both visited Pennsylvania for the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack to see the memorial to the crash of Flight 93, one of four planes hijacked that day. But these were not counted as campaign stops.
Pennsylvania is also a top focus for both campaigns with their spending, according to AdImpact.
The ad tracking service tweeted yesterday that Dems had $76 million in ad reservations through Election Day in Pennsylvania, compared to $60 million on the GOP side. Among the top swing states, Michigan was No. 2 with $59 million on the Dem side and $38 million by Republicans. Georgia was next at $39 million for Dems and $30 million by Republicans, followed by Wisconsin at $34 million for Dems and $29 million for Republicans.
For more, visit WisPolitics.com
The Capitol Report is written by editorial staff at WisPolitics.com, a nonpartisan, Madison-based news service that specializes in coverage of government and politics, and is distributed for publication by members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.
Copyright © WisPolitics.com
