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.
Donald Trump won Wisconsin in 2016 on his way to beating Hillary Clinton.
Then he lost Wisconsin in 2020 as Joe Biden won back the “Blue Wall.”’
And now in 2024, Trump won back Wisconsin over Kamala Harris on his way to a victorious comeback.
How did he do it, despite continued erosion of the Republican vote in the WOW counties of Washington, Ozaukee and Waukesha around Milwaukee?
Part of the recipe was taking a bigger share of the vote in rural Wisconsin .
Trump took a bigger share of the vote in all but five Wisconsin counties compared to 2020, according to a WisPolitics check of unofficial returns.
The five counties where Trump most improved his margins were:
–Lafayette, winning 59.6%, compared to 56.35% four years ago
–Grant, winning 58.4% compared to 55.22%
–Crawford, winning 56.1%, compared to 53.1%
–Ashland, winning 46.8%, compared to 43.86%
–Trempealeau, winning 60.1%, compared to 57.4%
Four of the five are in western Wisconsin along the Mississippi River with Ashland County in the northern part of the state.
Meanwhile, three of the five counties where Trump fared worse than 2020 are in the Milwaukee suburbs. That includes Waukesha County, where he took 59.2% of the vote Nov. 5, compared to 59.6% in 2020, and Ozaukee County, where he got 54.5% of the vote, compared to 55.15% four years ago. Meanwhile, he took 67.4% in Washington County, compared to 68.4%.
The other two places where Trump fared worse were Door and Adams counties. In Door, considered a bellwether county, Trump took 48.2%, compared to 48.48% last time.
Adams County, which is north of the Wisconsin Dells, went for Trump with 60.3% of the vote this year, compared to 62.3% in 2020.
Overall, Harris won 13 counties, compared to the 14 that Biden won. The outgoing president took Sauk County, which flipped to Trump.
Insiders were watching Milwaukee County to see if turnout waned compared to 2020. According to unofficial returns, at least 462,988 votes were counted there with 99% of precincts reporting. Harris won 68.5%.
Four years ago, 459,723 were cast there with Biden winning 69% of the vote.
Both parties will be analyzing the numbers as they prepare for the next big statewide election — the state Supreme Court race in the spring of 2025. Then comes the governor’s race in 2026.
Dems are already predicting a better climate for them in those two races, but Republicans will be trying to turn Trump’s 2024 win into future statewide success.
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.
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