Trump and Harris will both visit the Milwaukee area in a final push to win Wisconsin

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and erstwhile President Donald Trump will big dueling rallies wrong 7 miles of 1 different connected Friday nighttime successful nan Milwaukee area arsenic portion of a final push for votes successful swing-state Wisconsin’s largest county.

Milwaukee is location to nan astir Democratic votes successful Wisconsin, but its blimpish suburbs are wherever astir Republicans unrecorded and are a captious area for Trump arsenic he tries to reclaim nan authorities he narrowly won successful 2016 and mislaid successful 2020. One logic for his conclusion was a driblet successful support successful those Milwaukee suburbs and an summation successful Democratic votes successful nan city.

“Both candidates admit that nan roadworthy to nan White House runs straight done Milwaukee County,” said Hilario Deleon, chair of nan county’s Republican Party.

The dueling rallies — Trump is successful downtown Milwaukee and Harris is successful a suburb — whitethorn beryllium nan candidates’ past appearances successful battleground Wisconsin earlier Election Day. Both sides opportunity nan title is erstwhile again razor tight for nan state’s 10 electoral votes. Four of nan past six statesmanlike elections successful Wisconsin person been decided by little than a point, aliases less than 23,000 votes.

It was absentee votes from Milwaukee, which typically are reported early successful nan greeting aft Election Day, that tipped Wisconsin for President Joe Biden successful 2020.

Democrats cognize they must move retired voters successful Milwaukee, besides location to nan state’s largest Black population, to antagonistic Trump’s support successful nan suburbs and agrarian areas. Harris is hoping to replicate, and exceed, turnout from 2020 successful nan city, which voted 79% for Biden that year.

Trump is trying to trim into nan Democrats’ margin. Deleon called it a “lose by less” mentality.

A batch of Democrats are “anxious and cautiously optimistic,” said Angela Lang, laminitis and executive head of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities successful Milwaukee.

“Especially fixed 2016 erstwhile location wasn’t nan aforesaid magnitude of energy, I deliberation it’s clear Dems learned lessons astir nan value of Milwaukee and Wisconsin arsenic a whole,” she said.

In different precocious outreach effort targeting Black voters, erstwhile President Bill Clinton campaigned pinch section religion leaders connected Thursday nighttime astatine a halfway for celebrating African American euphony and arts successful Milwaukee.

Hillary Clinton did not run successful Wisconsin successful 2016 aft her superior loss, a correction that Harris is not repeating. The Friday extremity will beryllium her ninth successful nan authorities arsenic a statesmanlike campaigner and her 5th to Milwaukee aliases its suburbs. It will beryllium Trump’s 10th extremity successful Wisconsin, not counting nan Republican National Convention, which was held successful Milwaukee, and his 3rd sojourn to nan Milwaukee area.

Wisconsin Republican Party Chair Brian Schimming said that Harris having to return to nan Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee shows she is connected defense while Trump is connected offense.

The Milwaukee Election Commission estimated connected Thursday that it expects to person much than 100,000 ballots by Election Day. But that lags early ballot returns from nan blimpish suburbs.

“The mobility nary 1 knows nan reply to is who those voters are voting for,” said Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler. “My emotion is that location whitethorn beryllium immoderate pleasant surprises for Harris.”

Lang, nan Milwaukee organizer, said it is simply a contented for galore voters her group contacts to formed their ballots connected Election Day. And if they don’t?

“Then we’re successful a world of trouble,” said Mandela Barnes, a erstwhile lieutenant politician and president of Power to nan Polls, a group that’s been moving to boost turnout.

Trump’s rally is being staged successful nan aforesaid arena wherever nan Republican normal took spot 3 months ago. The Harris rally, to beryllium held astatine nan authorities adjacent parkland successful West Allis, will see nan rapper Cardi B, who is slated only to speak, and performances by GloRilla, Flo Milli, MC Lyte, The Isley Brothers and DJ GEMINI GILLY.