WASHINGTON — On the first day of early voting, former President Barack Obama will join Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in Wisconsin to encourage voters to cast their ballots early.
“They could be very effective together,” said Alexia Sabor, the chair of the Dane County Democratic Party.
Obama and Walz will be in Madison, a Democratic stronghold. Wisconsin was decided by about 20,000 votes in the last two presidential elections.
“People don't like their vote to be taken for granted,” Sabor said. “Joe Biden won Dane County by less than 22,000 votes. So, every vote here still has the potential to change the outcome of the election.”
“It’s not just proxies. [Harris] was also here,” Sabor continued about the visit from Obama and Walz. “I think that's really important for making sure that people feel that sense of enthusiasm and the importance of their vote. And I think for some people, that does mean they are more likely to go to the polls. They like to feel like they're part of this movement.”
Obama has hit the trail for Democratic presidetial nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in recent weeks, promoting her economic agenda and encouraging Black men in particular to cast their ballot for her. But his attempt to do so in Pittsburgh was met with some pushback; some Black men felt they were being lectured.
“Part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren't feeling the idea of having a woman as president,” Obama said in Pennsylvania.
Andrene Wright, an assistant professor of African American studies at UW-Madison, said while it’s true that Black men are not supporting Harris at the same level they did Obama, the concerns over this may misrepresent how this constituency has supported the Democratic party for years.
“What's most effective for Barack Obama aligning himself with the Kamala Harris campaign is getting at these undecided, moderate voters amongst several different racial and ethnic groups that have supported them before, and [are] not showing that same kind of level of support,” Wright said.
Wright said she’s hearing that criticism lingers about Harris’ record as a prosecutor even though “a lot of things have been debunked,” and the political climate is different now than when Obama ran for president in 2008 and 2012.
“We had Trump and a lot of these conversations of racism, white supremacy, post Black Lives Matter,” Wright said. “The voter base is kind of a bit more critical about criminal justice policies, reform policies, than it was during Barack Obama's era, and so having that kind of association can certainly hurt Kamala Harris … And then even just her identity… being Black, being American, being a woman, lends itself to conversations about sexism and misogyny.”
Wright added that much of Harris’ campaign was anchored on the fact that she is not former President Donald Trump, who is the Republican presidential candidate.
“I think that a lot of folks’ criticism of the campaign — Black men and Black women alike, and people alike — is that that shouldn't be enough for the Democratic Party to say, ‘Vote for me because I am not this person,’ right? And what I hope this kind of support amongst Black men for Donald Trump does for the Democratic Party, instead of thinking that they are essentially threatening the election, because there are other racial groups that are very much threatening the election, they should see this as an opportunity to say more about their policies and how we should vote to support of Kamala Harris, separate and apart from wanting Trump to not be in office," Wright said.
Melissa Baldauff, a Democratic strategist in Milwaukee, said this Wisconsin visit is an opportunity for Obama to focus on how Harris’ policies will help those who have historically been left behind.
“When you have Vice President Harris talking about $25,000 down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, this is a way we can help address our housing crisis and help build generational wealth for families,” she said. “That's something that's really important, especially in a community like Milwaukee, where Black and Brown folks have been impacted by redlining and by the really dangerous effects of racial discrimination for years and years and years.”
In a statement to Spectrum News 1, a spokesman for Trump’s campaign said, “an Obama visit isn’t going to convince Wisconsinites to vote for another four years of open borders, rising prices, and disaster at home and abroad.” In a similar vein, Brian Schimming, chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said Harris is turning to Obama to rescue its “flailing campaign” as “Americans grapple with high energy costs, the border crisis, and turmoil overseas.” Brandon Maly, chair of the Dane County Republican Party, said Harris is sending in Obama because she’s seeing her polls slip.
Later this week, Harris will hit the campaign trail with Obama and his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama.