With less than 100 days, both Harris and Trump commit to Wisconsin ground game

MADISON – With less than 100 days until the presidential election, Wisconsin remains a key state for both campaigns — especially following a shakeup on the Democratic ticket that will likely elevate Vice President Kamala Harris as the party's nominee.

Harris last week delivered her opening argument against a second Donald Trump presidential term in West Allis, just outside Milwaukee, in this battleground state where elections are decided on razor-thin margins. The Harris rally came just days after the conclusion of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee , where Trump formally accepted the party's nomination and brought Ohio Sen. JD Vance onto the ticket as his running mate, all after being shot in the ear days earlier during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

Kamala Harris frames election as choice between freedom and chaos

Speaking at her first campaign stop after she effectively replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket, Harris said voters in November will answer the question of, "What kind of country do we want to live in?"

"Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?" she asked.

At the same time, on a call with reporters, Trump committed to at least one debate with Harris, pledged to visit the U.S.-Mexico border as many times as “necessary” during his campaign, characterized the vice president as the country’s “border czar” and depicted her record as one of failures.

In a Fox News interview that aired Monday night, the former president seemed less firm in his commitment to debating Harris, saying he can "make a case for not doing it" but will "probably end up" doing so.

Campaigns tout dozens of Wisconsin field offices

The Trump ground game in Wisconsin currently includes 40 Republican field offices throughout the state, and a Republican National Committee spokesperson said the party's presence will continue to expand.

"President Trump's game plan remains the same for key battleground states like Wisconsin," said RNC Wisconsin press secretary Jacob Fischer in a statement. "Kamala has been in office for nearly four years, and the failed agenda of the Biden-Harris administration has been celebrated and backed by Kamala Harris and Democrats down-ballot. The ‘Border Czar’ has turned every state into a border state, and Wisconsinites won't forget that. With President Trump's record of success and a stacked line-up of commonsense Wisconsin Republicans like Eric Hovde on the ballot this November, Kamala and her dangerously liberal policies don't stand a chance."

In the week after Harris launched her candidacy, a campaign spokesperson said the Wisconsin Democratic coordinated campaign hosted more than 2,000 volunteers for events, signed up more than 3,500 new volunteers and made more than 175,000 voter contact attempts, knocking on 60,000 doors. The campaign reported that more than 3,500 supporters attended last week's rally in West Allis.

Following the rally and throughout the week, the Harris campaign held news conferences with local leaders in Madison, Wausau, La Crosse and Green Bay, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff campaigned for his wife in Stevens Point and Wausau .

The Democratic coordinated campaign has more than 160 staff and 48 offices in Wisconsin.

"Wisconsin Democrats are fired up to elect Vice President Kamala Harris, and in the past week, our campaign has seen a surge of energy and new volunteers," said Wisconsin Democratic coordinated campaign manager Garren Randolph, in a statement. "The choice in this election is between a prosecutor and a convicted felon, between someone looking to the future and someone trying to drag us to the past, and between someone who wants to safeguard our freedoms and someone who wants to serve as dictator on ‘day one.’"

Trump, on the call with reporters last week, said Harris is "the same as Biden, but much more radical. She's a radical left person, and this country doesn't want a radical left person today."

Republicans highlight impact of inflation in Wisconsin

The RNC pointed to a report from the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee that showed, as of June, Wisconsin had seen an inflation rate of 19.9% since January 2021, estimating the average household is currently paying $973 more per month on goods and services in that timeframe.

According to the most recent Marquette University Law School poll , released June 26 before Biden withdrew from the race, the presidential race was a virtual tossup, while in the Senate race, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin led Hovde by 5 points. Hovde, a banking and real estate mogul from Madison, is challenging Baldwin as she seeks a third term.

Trump defeated Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton by about 23,000 votes in Wisconsin in 2016, and lost the state to Biden by about 21,000 votes in 2020.

Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com .

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: With less than 100 days, both Harris and Trump commit to Wisconsin ground game