Jan 03, 2024
Matt Batzel
Kirk Bangstad’s attempt to throw Donald Trump off the Wisconsin 2024 ballot is the latest leftist admission that they are afraid of Trump. If you look closely at what Badger state liberals have done the past few years, you can see a pattern. With a flailing economy and record inflation, the Left is insecure with a 2020 re-match between Biden and Trump. A closer examination at Trump’s grassroots Wisconsin electoral strength and recent polling data highlights their precarious position. Wisconsin Democrats fear facing Donald Trump in the 2024 Presidential election because they know Trump will win.
Bangstad is the woke owner of Minocqua Brewery Co, a Madison area brewery. He filed the complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) to try to get Trump booted from the 2024 ballot. WEC quickly dismissed the complaint, but Bangstad is expected to continue his efforts in a liberal courtroom in Dane County this week. His actions reek of desperation to follow other states’ efforts to deny Trump ballot access. These are not the actions of rational actors, rather they are a continuation of lawfare, trying to win by any means.
But this isn’t the first time Democrats have revealed their weak position to beat Trump fairly. In Tony Evers’ 2022 re-election campaign, he specifically avoided mentioning Trump across major battleground areas of Wisconsin, while most leftists tried to make the whole 2022 election a referendum on Trump. Evers’ team touted using different “regional filters” where they mentioned Trump only in liberal enclaves like Madison, while avoiding mentioning him in LaCrosse, Eau Claire, Green Bay, Wausau, and Superior.
The Biden economy has hurt Wisconsin’s working class especially hard. Inflation continues to make everything more expensive, while wages aren’t keeping up. Even the left-wing Center On Wisconsin Strategy (COWS), stated wages couldn’t “keep pace with inflation so purchasing power dropped for the first time in a decade.” In addition, Wisconsin was one of just three states to suffer inflation-adjusted drops in GDP through June of 2023, according to statistics released in December 2023 by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Biden’s tax and spend policies have been a disaster for Wisconsin workers. Biden’s record on immigration and foreign policy are also major opportunities for Trump to exploit in a rematch.
The Left also realizes that Trump will be the toughest Republican to beat in 2024 in Wisconsin. In the summer and fall of 2023, President Biden had a small polling lead over Trump in Wisconsin. A closer look at the polling reveals that it was due to Trump’s lower numbers among Republicans in a few polls. This may have been due to the amount of criticism that Trump received from establishment leaders (even talk radio) and for not participating in the first Republican debate, which took place in Milwaukee. The event drew a who’s who of Wisconsin Republicans.
Trump’s position in polling against Biden in Wisconsin has been strengthened as of late. The latest Marquette Law School Poll, which consistently under estimates Trump’s strength, has Trump and Biden within the margin of error. Trump now receives 82% of Republican support in a head to head matchup against Biden (with leaners as partisans). In the prior Marquette poll (where Biden led by 9%), Trump was only receiving 75% GOP support (with leaners as partisans). When Trump wins the nomination, he will
strengthen his support among Republicans.
Some might look at Trump’s primary competitors and think they could fare better. But a look back at 2022 shows what the Left would do if Biden were to take on an alternative. In 2022, Democrats bashed Tim Michels for his association with Donald Trump. They would undoubtedly use this strategy to boost liberal turnout in Madison and Milwaukee. Any alternative to Trump would have to match Trump’s out of state blue-collar appeal. But Trump demonstrated in 2016 and 2020, that he is the only proven vote-getter in these areas. So while an alternative may do slightly better in the Milwaukee suburbs, they would not do better in rural Wisconsin and the crucial Fox Valley. Trump is the most formidable Republican to take on Joe Biden.
The Left is getting desperate to stop Donald Trump. Wisconsin Democrats have big reasons to be worried. The lagging Wisconsin economy looms over the 2024 election as we look at the year ahead. Trump will be able to exploit Biden’s disastrous record on many issues from immigration to foreign policy. Trump has positioned himself as the 2024 favorite and Wisconsin Democrats are beginning to say the quiet part out loud: they know Trump is likely to win.
www.wispolitics.com
Matt Batzel
Kirk Bangstad’s attempt to throw Donald Trump off the Wisconsin 2024 ballot is the latest leftist admission that they are afraid of Trump. If you look closely at what Badger state liberals have done the past few years, you can see a pattern. With a flailing economy and record inflation, the Left is insecure with a 2020 re-match between Biden and Trump. A closer examination at Trump’s grassroots Wisconsin electoral strength and recent polling data highlights their precarious position. Wisconsin Democrats fear facing Donald Trump in the 2024 Presidential election because they know Trump will win.
Bangstad is the woke owner of Minocqua Brewery Co, a Madison area brewery. He filed the complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) to try to get Trump booted from the 2024 ballot. WEC quickly dismissed the complaint, but Bangstad is expected to continue his efforts in a liberal courtroom in Dane County this week. His actions reek of desperation to follow other states’ efforts to deny Trump ballot access. These are not the actions of rational actors, rather they are a continuation of lawfare, trying to win by any means.
But this isn’t the first time Democrats have revealed their weak position to beat Trump fairly. In Tony Evers’ 2022 re-election campaign, he specifically avoided mentioning Trump across major battleground areas of Wisconsin, while most leftists tried to make the whole 2022 election a referendum on Trump. Evers’ team touted using different “regional filters” where they mentioned Trump only in liberal enclaves like Madison, while avoiding mentioning him in LaCrosse, Eau Claire, Green Bay, Wausau, and Superior.
The Biden economy has hurt Wisconsin’s working class especially hard. Inflation continues to make everything more expensive, while wages aren’t keeping up. Even the left-wing Center On Wisconsin Strategy (COWS), stated wages couldn’t “keep pace with inflation so purchasing power dropped for the first time in a decade.” In addition, Wisconsin was one of just three states to suffer inflation-adjusted drops in GDP through June of 2023, according to statistics released in December 2023 by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Biden’s tax and spend policies have been a disaster for Wisconsin workers. Biden’s record on immigration and foreign policy are also major opportunities for Trump to exploit in a rematch.
The Left also realizes that Trump will be the toughest Republican to beat in 2024 in Wisconsin. In the summer and fall of 2023, President Biden had a small polling lead over Trump in Wisconsin. A closer look at the polling reveals that it was due to Trump’s lower numbers among Republicans in a few polls. This may have been due to the amount of criticism that Trump received from establishment leaders (even talk radio) and for not participating in the first Republican debate, which took place in Milwaukee. The event drew a who’s who of Wisconsin Republicans.
Trump’s position in polling against Biden in Wisconsin has been strengthened as of late. The latest Marquette Law School Poll, which consistently under estimates Trump’s strength, has Trump and Biden within the margin of error. Trump now receives 82% of Republican support in a head to head matchup against Biden (with leaners as partisans). In the prior Marquette poll (where Biden led by 9%), Trump was only receiving 75% GOP support (with leaners as partisans). When Trump wins the nomination, he will
strengthen his support among Republicans.
Some might look at Trump’s primary competitors and think they could fare better. But a look back at 2022 shows what the Left would do if Biden were to take on an alternative. In 2022, Democrats bashed Tim Michels for his association with Donald Trump. They would undoubtedly use this strategy to boost liberal turnout in Madison and Milwaukee. Any alternative to Trump would have to match Trump’s out of state blue-collar appeal. But Trump demonstrated in 2016 and 2020, that he is the only proven vote-getter in these areas. So while an alternative may do slightly better in the Milwaukee suburbs, they would not do better in rural Wisconsin and the crucial Fox Valley. Trump is the most formidable Republican to take on Joe Biden.
The Left is getting desperate to stop Donald Trump. Wisconsin Democrats have big reasons to be worried. The lagging Wisconsin economy looms over the 2024 election as we look at the year ahead. Trump will be able to exploit Biden’s disastrous record on many issues from immigration to foreign policy. Trump has positioned himself as the 2024 favorite and Wisconsin Democrats are beginning to say the quiet part out loud: they know Trump is likely to win.
Matt Batzel: Wisconsin Democrats are scared of Trump – WisPolitics
www.wispolitics.com
