Wisconsin

Biden heads back to Wisconsin and Michigan as he looks to shore up Democratic ‘blue wall’

Published

2 years ago

March 13, 2024

Biden heads back to Wisconsin and Michigan as he looks to shore up Democratic ‘blue wall’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is getting to be a familiar face around the Great Lakes — and with a November rematch against Donald Trump looming, that’s no accident.

Biden is off on a two-day swing through Wisconsin and Michigan starting Wednesday, looking to create momentum for his reelection campaign after a fiery State of the Union address last week in which he laced into Trump as a dire threat to the nation’s core ideals of democracy and freedom. On Tuesday night, he clinched a second straight Democratic nomination, winning enough delegates after a decisive victory in Georgia. The president has visited Pennsylvania, Georgia and New Hampshire ahead of his latest midwestern trip.

Michigan and Wisconsin are part of the “blue wall,” along with Pennsylvania, where Biden was born and has made more campaign trips than to any other state. Trump flipped all three to win the White House in 2016, but Biden took them back four years ago and likely needs to hold them if he’s going to secure a second term.

Biden also plans to travel to North Carolina and other battleground states in the coming weeks. He has been overseeing openings of field offices as his campaign hires and trains organizers and begins assembling volunteers.

That’s meant as a show of political organizing strength — an area where the president has so far outpaced Trump, who has been occupied for months with a competitive primary and four ongoing criminal cases in which he faces 91 felony counts.

Biden’s reelection campaign hopes on-the-ground organization can neutralize the president’s low approval ratings and polling showing that most voters — even a majority of Democrats — don’t want him to seek reelection.

“This particular president is a really impressive retail politician. He doesn’t just do the rally and leave,” said Jim Paine, the mayor of Superior, Wisconsin, a port city on the border with Minnesota. Biden has been there twice, including in January to promote a bridge built as part of the infrastructure law.

“He really puts time in with people, listens to individual stories, he talks about his own life one-on-one,” Paine said.

Biden heads first to Milwaukee to announce awarding $3.3 billion for infrastructure projects in disadvantaged communities. Funded through the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, the projects should help repair neighborhoods in Black, Hispanic and Chinese communities that were cut off from their surroundings years ago by major highway and roads. The president will highlight $36 million to reconnect parts of Milwaukee’s 6th Street, as highway construction in the 1960s brought in fast-moving traffic that physically divided the area.

“This is standing out as a historic example of what it looks like to deliver for people in a way that will make everyday life better for everyone,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on a call with reporters.

The grants cover 132 total projects, including in Atlanta, Los Angeles and Philadelphia as well as Birmingham, Alabama, Syracuse, New York and Toledo, Ohio. Buttigieg said that some of the projects are “relatively modest” and can be completed in “short order,” while others are “massive and ambitious undertakings that will take many years.”

Biden will also oversee the opening of his campaign headquarters in Milwaukee, where nearly 40% of residents are Black, rather than in Madison, the state capital that typically serves as the fulcrum for Democratic campaigns.

It’s Biden’s ninth visit to Wisconsin as president and his fifth to Milwaukee, where Republicans are holding their national convention this summer. Chris LaCivita, an adviser to Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson ‘s successful reelection campaign in 2022, is also a top Trump campaign aide — another signal that the state is a top GOP priority.

On Thursday, the president heads to Saginaw, north of Detroit, which has high concentrations of Black and union-affiliated voters. It was once reliably Democratic, but swung to Trump in 2016 and only narrowly backed Biden four years ago.

Biden and top advisers, both from the campaign and the White House, have made frequent visits to Michigan recently amid criticism of his administration’s handling of the war in Gaza in places like Dearborn, a Detroit suburb with the nation’s highest concentration of Arab Americans.

His challenge was demonstrated vividly in Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary last month, when activists promoted an “uncommitted” movement that garnered about 13% of the vote.

Thursday’s visit won’t take him to Dearborn, but will instead help Biden connect with key constituencies in other parts the state. The campaign promises to open more than 15 Michigan field offices, complementing the 44 it and the state Democratic Party have in Wisconsin.

Early polls have shown Biden faring better against Trump in Wisconsin than Michigan. Richard Czuba, a longtime Michigan pollster, said far more potentially decisive in November than supporters of the “uncommitted” movement during the Democratic primary are many “double-unfavorable” voters. He described those as state residents who plan to vote in November but don’t like either Trump or Biden.

“If they are persuaded to vote for Joe Biden, Joe Biden will win the state of Michigan,” Czuba said. “But, for Donald Trump, I think it’s an easier assignment to make sure that those double-unfavorables get divided.”

One way Biden can win over such voters might be to make the race about issues like abortion rights, rather than himself, Czuba said. He noted that the president’s criticism of a suggestion by Trump that he’d allow Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to some NATO allies might resonate with Michigan’s large Polish-American population as well as immigrants from the Baltic nations.

Biden’s campaign moved quickly to highlight those comments in a three-week, six-figure digital ad campaign that targeted roughly 900,000 Baltic Americans in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Still, that may not be enough for some voters in Michigan, where apathy about the Trump-Biden rematch is palpable. Said Saginaw resident Jeffrey Bulls: “I probably will be skipping that top spot on the ballot.”

___

Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Saginaw, Michigan, and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

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Wisconsin

Judge panel dismisses lawsuit seeking to redraw Wisconsin’s congressional maps

Published

9 hours ago

March 31, 2026

Press Room

Judge panel dismisses lawsuit seeking to redraw Wisconsin’s congressional maps

article

Wisconsin Congressional Districts (2025)

MADISON, Wis. – A three-judge panel in Wisconsin on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by Democratic voters that sought to redraw the battleground state’s Republican-friendly congressional boundary lines ahead of the November midterm election.

The decision can be appealed to the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court, but it’s unclear whether it could rule in time to affect the election this year. There is a second lawsuit pending that also seeks to redraw the state’s congressional districts, but it isn’t slated to go to trial until April 2027.

Both lawsuits were filed as President Donald Trump wages a national redistricting battle in an effort to preserve the Republicans’ slim House majority in November.

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Judge panel’s decision

What they’re saying:

The three-judge panel said in its ruling that it has “no basis to find the current congressional map invalid.” The case must be dismissed, the judges said, because only the Wisconsin Supreme Court can determine whether the maps should be redrawn.

But in dismissing the lawsuit, the panel made clear that it was “not endorsing the current congressional map.”

“Rather, we, as circuit court judges, do not have the authority to read into a Wisconsin Supreme Court case an analysis that it does not contain,” the judges ruled.

Wisconsin Capitol, Madison

However, the judges said they “stand ready” to engage in any fact-finding the state Supreme Court might order later.

Republicans praised the ruling.

“This is a significant win for Republicans and a yet another blow to desperate Democrats who wanted to reshape the electoral landscape,” said Zach Bannon, spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “By keeping Wisconsin’s current district lines in place for 2026, Republicans are in a strong position to build on our momentum to retain and grow our House majority.”

Lawsuit over maps

The backstory:

The Wisconsin Supreme Court in November ordered that the redistricting cases be first heard by the three-judge panel over objections from Republicans. It marked the first time that process has been used under a 2011 law enacted by Republicans.

The lawsuit that was dismissed argued that the current maps discriminate against Democrats. They do so by packing a substantial number of Democrats into two districts while breaking up other Democratic areas into six Republican-favorable districts, the lawsuit argued. They also argued that the Wisconsin Supreme Court violated the constitutional separation of powers provision when adopting the most recent map.

In 2010, the year before Republicans redrew the congressional maps, Democrats held five seats compared with three for Republicans. Republicans hold six of the state’s eight House seats, but only two are considered competitive.

The current congressional maps, which were based on the ones drawn in 2010, were approved by the state Supreme Court when it was controlled by conservative judges. The U.S. Supreme Court in March 2022 declined to block the maps from taking effect.

Election outlook

Big picture view:

A top target for Democrats is the western Wisconsin seat held by Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden, a vocal Trump supporter. He won in 2022 after longtime Democratic Rep. Ron Kind retired. Van Orden won reelection in the 3rd District in 2024.

The other seat Democrats hope to make more competitive is southeastern Wisconsin’s 1st District, which Republican Rep. Bryan Steil has held since 2019. The latest maps made that district more competitive while still favoring Republicans.

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What’s next:

The dismissed lawsuit was brought on behalf of 11 voters by Elias Law Group. Attorneys with the liberal law firm did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment. Attorneys for Wisconsin’s six Republican members of Congress who sought the dismissal had no immediate comment.

The lawsuit scheduled to go to trial next year was brought by a bipartisan coalition of business leaders. There is also a pending motion to dismiss that case.

The Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy argues in its lawsuit that Wisconsin’s congressional maps are unconstitutional because they are an anti-competitive gerrymander. The lawsuit notes that the median margin of victory for candidates in the eight districts since the maps were enacted is close to 30 percentage points.

The Source: The Associated Press provided this report.

ElectionNewsWisconsin

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Wisconsin

Kids fishing clinics part of spring tradition in southeastern Wisconsin

Published

21 hours ago

March 31, 2026

Press Room

Kids fishing clinics part of spring tradition in southeastern Wisconsin

As part of a spring tradition in southeastern Wisconsin, free learn-to-fish clinics for youth will be held April 18 at eight public sites in Milwaukee and Washington counties.

The events, offered free for children ages 15 and under, are staffed by members of local fishing clubs and presented by the Milwaukee and Washington county parks departments, the Department of Natural Resources, the Wisconsin Council of Sport Fishing Organizations and the Hunger Task Force Fish Hatchery.

All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Additional free clinics will be held in similar formats April 25 and June 27 at private clubs in Waukesha County.

The programs are part of campaign started about 40 years ago to get Wisconsin youth outdoors and teach fishing basics.

“These free, family-oriented clinics are designed to introduce beginners to fishing while helping established anglers sharpen their skills ahead of the open water season,” the DNR said in a statement.

The clinics will feature hands-on sessions on knot-tying, water safety, fish identification and fishing techniques as well as casting games, painting and tattoos, according to the DNR.

The lakes, ponds or lagoons at host sites are stocked with panfish or trout before the clinics.

Fishing equipment is available, but participants are encouraged to bring a rod and reel if possible.

No preregistration is required. The instructional sessions typically last about 1 hour and will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 18.

Milwaukee County locations hosting clinics are: Brown Deer Park, 7835 N. Green Bay Road; Dineen Park, 6901 W. Vienna St.; Greenfield Park, 2028 S. 124 St.; Kosciuszko Park, 2201 S. 7th St.; McCarty Park, 8214 W. Cleveland Ave.; Mitchell Park, 524 S. Layton Blvd.; Scout Lake Park, 6201 W. Loomis Road; and Sheridan Park, 4800 S. Lake Drive.

And in Washington County, a clinic will be held Saturday at Regner Park, 800 N. Main St., West Bend.

Clinics will occur rain or shine, so participants are encouraged to dress for the weather. Adults are also encouraged to inquire about joining a club to expand their knowledge and help with future clinics.

The clinics are held on formally designated urban waters and are reserved by state statute for youth ages 15 and younger and people with certain disabilities.

Along with DNR staff, members of the following clubs and organizations will provide angling instruction at the clinics: Okauchee Fishing Club; Inner City Sportsmen Club; Milwaukee Great Lakes Sports Fishermen; Southside Sportsmen’s Club; Bayview Rod & Gun Club; South Milwaukee 1400 Fishing & Hunting Club; and Walleyes Unlimited.

In addition, two private clubs in Waukesha County will offer free fishing clinics later in spring and summer.

Wern Valley Hunting Preserve and Sporting Clays will hold clinics April 25 at a pond on its grounds. The events will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The club is located at S36 W29657 Wern Way, Waukesha.

And on June 27, Daniel Boone Conservation League will hold free fishing clinics at its pond. The clinics will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The club is located at 4694 Hwy. 167, Hubertus.

For more information on the Milwaukee or West Bend kid’s fishing clinics, contact Laura Schmidt, DNR fisheries biologist, at Laura.Schmidt@wisconsin.gov or (414) 416-0591. For information on the clinic at Wern Valley in Waukesha, contact Al Shook at arshook56@gmail.com or (414) 218-0774. And for nformation on the clinic at Daniel Boone in Hubertus, contact MarySusan Diedrich at msd55@att.net or (414) 379-3770.

Stamp design contests: The DNR is accepting artwork entries in the design contests for the 2027 Wisconsin wild turkey, ring-necked pheasant and waterfowl stamps.

The contests are held annually and provide Wisconsin artists with an opportunity to showcase their talents, commemorate their work and promote wildlife conservation across the state.

Hunters are required to purchase a species-specific stamp to legally harvest a turkey, pheasant or waterfowl species in Wisconsin. Sales of the three stamps generate hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for species management throughout the state, including habitat management, restoration, education and research projects, according to the DNR.

Stamp design entries for this year’s contests must be received or postmarked by Aug. 1, 2026.

Registration, rules, entry information and reproduction rights agreements are available on the DNR’s Wildlife Stamp Funding and Stamp Design Contest webpage.

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Wisconsin

WATCH: Teen ‘takeover’ turns violent as fights break out, arrests follow chaos at Wisconsin mall | Fox News Video

Published

1 day ago

March 30, 2026

Press Room

WATCH: Teen ‘takeover’ turns violent as fights break out, arrests follow chaos at Wisconsin mall | Fox News Video

Video shows the moment a brawl broke out outside a Kohl’s at the Bayshore Mall during a teen “takeover” event in Glendale, Wisconsin on Sunday, March 29, 2026. (Credit: @milwaukeereports via Storyful)

Video shows the moment a brawl reportedly broke out outside a Kohl’s at the Bayshore Mall during an unsanctioned teen “takeover” event in Glendale, Wisconsin on Sunday, March 29, 2026 . (Credit: @milwaukeereports via Storyful)

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