Local experts say Wisconsin’s battleground status not in question | NBC 26

ALLOUEZ — We spoke with experts about Wisconsin flipping for Republican President-elect Trump, while the Senate seat remained in the hands of Democrat Tammy Baldwin.

• One political science professor attributed Trump’s win to higher GOP turnout, but another says it could be that independent voters flipping red this time.
• Both experts agreed Wisconsin will remain a swing state as Trump’s winning margin of around 30,000 votes in the state is still very close.

(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details added for the web)

The blue wall turned red in the presidential race — Wisconsin was one of the swing states going for now-president-elect Trump. We spoke with experts who say the Badger State is still the ultimate swing state.

“It’s a pretty resounding victory for Trump,” Michael Kraft said. “That’s what surprises me.”

Kraft taught political science at UWGB for almost four decades.

He says Wisconsin was emblematic of a national swing for the former president — with frustration with the Biden administration top of mind for voters.

“Republicans have harped on immigration and the economy above all other issues, and I think Democrats got clobbered on both of them,” Kraft said. “In politics, perception is everything. People thought the economy was weak. They thought Trump would do better, and that seems to be the key factor here.”

“My best guess for why the shift towards Trump happened everywhere is just general dissatisfaction with the Biden administration,” Professor Anthony Chergosky said. “And then blaming Kamala Harris for that record.”

But Kraft believes the GOP victory was more about getting out the vote than convincing undecided voters.

“It comes down to turnout,” he said. “Did Democrats not get the turnouts in Milwaukee and Madison and Brown County that they expected? Elections are not about changing minds so much as getting your people to show up.”

On the other side of the state, another professor says Wisconsin’s battleground status is secure, as the state re-elected Democrat Tammy Baldwin to the US Senate.

“That is so emblematic of Wisconsin’s swing state status,” UW La Crosse Assistant Professor of Political Science, Anthony Chergosky said. “That one party was victorious in the presidential race while the other party was victorious in the U.S. Senate race.”

For the third straight election, the presidential race in Wisconsin was decided by less than 30,000 votes.

That tight margin — and the lack of Donald Trump in the 2028 race — leaves experts thinking the state will be just as important and unpredictable in the future.

“Nobody else can be Donald Trump,” Kraft said. “He’s unique.”

We also spoke with local Republican leaders who affirmed what these experts said — saying turnout and passion in their party was like nothing they’d seen before.

Source: Local experts say Wisconsin’s battleground status not in question