Donald Trump exploring visit to Madison to boost GOP turnout in liberal stronghold
Former President Donald Trump could soon be making an unconventional trip to Wisconsin's liberal bastion of Madison as he seeks to boost turnout among Dane County Republicans — a voter bloc many conservatives view as pivotal to winning the battleground state this November.
Trump has already announced plans to hold a campaign stop in Prairie du Chien on Saturday, though GOP sources have confirmed to the Wisconsin State Journal the former president is also exploring a potential event in Madison — possibly as early as Oct. 1.
"He will be here soon," one Republican source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Tuesday.
Additional details were not immediately available. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
While Madison is arguably the most liberal community in the state, the city and greater Dane County also is home to one of the state's largest populations of Republican voters. State and local GOP officials have said repeatedly one of the party's keys to success in statewide elections is to spend more money in Dane County and bring in more high-profile visits to inspire conservatives and potentially tip the scales in a state notorious for razor-thin margins. Others within the party have urged Trump to hold a campaign event here.
The importance of a strong GOP turnout in Dane County is further amplified by shifting demographics in Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties. The WOW counties, which encircle Milwaukee and have long been considered the state's strongest GOP powerhouses, have seen Republican margins slip over the years.
The newspaper Isthmus reported Tuesday the Trump campaign had asked the World Dairy Expo whether the candidate could schedule a visit during the Oct. 1-4 Madison exposition. Expo spokesperson Lisa Behnke told the Isthmus in an email event organizers "humbly declined" the request in order to maintain a nonpartisan exposition.
Visits from high-profile Republicans have been rare in Madison, due in large part to the community's massive liberal population.
In early 2019, Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence held an event in the state Capitol — marking what was possibly the first and only time a sitting vice president has held an event inside the building.
Democrats, meanwhile, continue to make trips to Madison.
Vice President Kamala Harris made her fourth trip to Wisconsin since replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket. S peaking to a packed Alliant Energy Center in Madison on Friday , Harris hammered Trump on abortion — an issue that continues to galvanize liberals since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
While Democrats have been riding a newfound wave of enthusiasm behind Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, recent polling still underscores a neck-and-neck race in Wisconsin.
Recent polling by Marquette Law School found that, among likely voters and registered voters, respondents favored Harris 52% to Trump's 48%, although the results are within the margin of error for both groups.
A separate poll released by AARP Wisconsin found Harris backed by 48% of all likely voters, compared with Trump's 45%. For voters 50 years and older, Trump was backed by 47% to Harris' 45%. Both of those results are within the poll's margin of error.
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