What does it take to win Wisconsin in the presidential election? Experts at a WisPolitics DC breakfast said it would be a combination of the right issues, organization and emotion.
A Marquette University Law School poll released this week shows 52% of registered voters supporting Vice President Kamala Harris and 48% backing Trump.
At a WisPolitics DC breakfast at the Aspin Center on Tuesday, Poll Director Charles Franklin said perceptions of who would win the election have also changed, with July polling showing more people who thought Trump would win. But this time, more said Harris would win.
The poll shows that 48% of respondents say Harris will definitely or probably win, 41% say Trump will definitely or probably win and 11% say they don’t know.
Milwaukee County Exec David Crowley, who was in the audience, and reporter Craig Gilbert both said the race in Wisconsin is about the economy. The poll found 41% of respondents said was the most important issue in the election.
Crowley said to win Wisconsin, Harris will have to make her plans, particularly around the economy, clear. Gilbert added that the weakest answer in the presidential debate was Harris’ first, regarding the economy. He said Harris was “unresponsive” to the question.
“I think what she needed to do was at least acknowledge more the fact that there are a lot of people who don’t feel like they’re better off,” Gilbert said.
Post-presidential debate polling from Marquette Law School will be released in a couple weeks, but even so, Franklin said he doesn’t expect much to change.
An associate professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins, Lily Mason, said some of this change could be explained from the political psychology side of things. She said there are two emotions that drive political action — anger and enthusiasm.
Trump, she said, is pushing his campaign forward with anger, while Harris is using enthusiasm, which resonates with younger voters.
“No matter what you think of Harris and Trump, [their debate] was mild in comparison to the Biden debate,” Franklin added about the debate factor in his upcoming poll. “I’m not looking for big change, but on the other hand, the public will do what it damn well pleases.”
