Gwen Walz rallies volunteers working 'to keep Wisconsin blue' at Ozaukee County stop
GRAFTON — Gwen Walz, Minnesota's first lady and the wife of Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, rallied a group of volunteers Thursday packed into a tiny campaign office in Ozaukee County — an area north of Milwaukee where Democrats have been gaining ground in recent elections.
"You are tireless volunteers who are going to keep Wisconsin blue," Walz told about 60 people gathered at the Ozaukee County Democrats Office. "Kamala and Tim — you know this — they're the underdogs in this race. But I know that we can win, and I know why we can win: because we have you."
Walz, a former educator, was joined by Democratic state senate candidate Jodi Habush Sinykin and Deb Dassow, the party's Ozaukee County chairwoman.
Ozaukee County has long been a conservative voting area but has been shifting in a Democratic direction.
"We keep moving more and more blue," Dassow said to applause. "We are the number one county moving blue in the state."
Habush Sinykin is challenging Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, who was first elected to the current 20th Senate District in 2015, and previously served four years in the Assembly. He was drawn into the 8th Senate District, which is currently held by Rep. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown. Knodl decided to run for the Assembly rather than forcing a primary with Stroebel.
Habush Sinykin lost the 2023 special election for the 8th to Knodl by less than 2 percentage points. According to an analysis by Marquette University Lubar Center research fellow John Johnson, the new district, which includes Port Washington, Grafton and Mequon, leans 53% Republican.
"We are here together because we want to strengthen our communities, which means supporting strong families and a strong economy," Habush Sinykin said. "And we want to leave our children with a better country than the one that we inherited."
During her speech, Gwen Walz hinted at the key role Wisconsin is expected to play in the election, noting, "This is my fifth time here in just a very short amount of time."
"Now, Wisconsin, I know you are carrying the world on your shoulders right now," she said. "But I want you to know this: Kamala, Doug, Tim and I, we are right here with you."
Asked about the major issues in this election, Sue Hohn Hill, a 70-year-old Mequon resident, said, "I have daughters."
"I remember pre-Roe. You know, I was there," Hohn Hill said. "I saw what happened to women pre-Roe, and I saw the gains we made. And we're not going back."
On Thursday, Walz also stopped in Waukesha County, another longtime Republican stronghold that has been shifting in recent years.
Her visit came the day after surrogates for former President Donald Trump's campaign wrapped up a three-day bus tour in Wisconsin, which ended with a town hall event in Waukesha Wednesday night.
The Waukesha bus tour stop featured U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas, Republican Party of Wisconsin chair Brian Schimming, Moms for Liberty Ozaukee County chair Scarlett Johnson, former Department of Defense chief of staff Kash Patel, and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
In a statement about Walz's Wisconsin visit, Team Trump Wisconsin Press Secretary Jacob Fischer criticized Harris over issues like "unaffordable grocery prices and historic inflation."
On Saturday, Trump is scheduled to return to Wisconsin. He is expected to deliver remarks about illegal immigration and border security in Prairie du Chien.
Mary Spicuzza can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: In Wisconsin, Gwen Walz rallies volunteers after Trump bus tour