Biden surrogates hitting Wisconsin for official launch of 2024 election effort
MADISON – Days after a visit from President Joe Biden to the state's largest city, Wisconsin Democrats will hit the campaign trail this weekend to officially launch their 2024 election efforts.
The party will welcome national figures including Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois, and Reps. Gwen Moore and Mark Pocan of Wisconsin as volunteers launch canvassing efforts throughout the state. Democrats have 44 offices in Wisconsin, including in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Superior, Eau Claire, Wausau, Kenosha and Sheboygan.
“We’re building on our unparalleled campaign infrastructure to ensure every Wisconsinite knows what’s at stake this election, and our volunteers will be sharing with their friends and neighbors how President Biden and Democrats have worked to protect women’s reproductive freedoms, defended our democracy, and lowered costs for families,” Garren Randolph, Wisconsin campaign manager for Biden, said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Biden returned to the "blue wall" that was crucial to his 2020 victory as he looks to build momentum for his reelection effort with a two-day trip through Wisconsin and Michigan.
More: The indispensable state: Why Wisconsin could again be the electoral 'tipping point' in 2024
The president spent the night in Milwaukee as he made official presidential and campaign stops in a community that traditionally supports Democrats but also where Biden must build enthusiasm among Black voters if he wants to carry the state.
The trip came a day after both Biden and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump clinched their respective parties' nominations following primary contests Tuesday — virtually assuring a rematch of the 2020 election that rocked the nation. Days earlier, Biden delivered a fiery State of the Union speech that served as an unofficial kickoff to his general election campaign.
Earlier this week, the campaign announced it will base its Wisconsin campaign operation out of Milwaukee, the first time a Democratic presidential nominee has made the city a state campaign headquarters in at least two decades.
Biden campaign officials said the move to center efforts in Milwaukee reflects the campaign's focus on Black and Latino voters and suburban women in the Milwaukee area. The headquarters, downtown at 252 E Highland Ave., will be one of 44 offices across the state operated by the Biden campaign and state and national Democrats, according to the Biden campaign.
The Democratic campaign kickoff follows a string of visits from Biden and his surrogates in recent weeks, including Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, has not yet visited Wisconsin this election cycle.
"While Donald Trump has hardly visited Wisconsin and Republicans are closing offices in the state, we’re showing up for, listening to, and rallying the voters essential to our winning coalition," Randolph said.
The Trump campaign has twice not responded to questions from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the former president's plans to reach out to voters in the Badger state.
A spokesman for the Republican Party of Wisconsin in a statement described Biden's campaigning as "panicked scrambling."
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris know they have lost the trust of the American people. No amount of panicked scrambling from the Biden campaign will distract Wisconsin families from the fact they are worse off under Bidenomics," RPW spokesman Matt Fisher said.
Fisher did not directly respond to questions about the Trump campaign's plans.
Jessie Opoien and Molly Beck can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Biden surrogates hitting Wisconsin for launch of re-election effort
