US election: What the 'WOW' corner of a swing state could mean for Trump and Biden
Wisconsin was decided by just 20,000 votes at the last election in favour of Joe Biden. But one corner of the must-win state went for Trump. It's a key battleground for Republicans.
Wednesday 17 July 2024 18:05, UK
Half an hour from the Republican National Convention hall, the private jets are parked up at Waukesha airfield. It's 30 minutes down Highway 43 and in a place called WOW.
That's the acronym for the counties of Washington, Ozaukee and Waukesha.
The corner of Wisconsin that gave us the Les Paul Gibson guitar picked Donald Trump at the last election, but Joe Biden won the state overall - by just 20,000 votes.
In Wisconsin, rural areas lean Republican - in the must-win state, support for Trump is strongest here.
I met Rob Schuett, who has owned his family farm in Waukesha for 50 years. He said the economy is his priority in deciding who to vote for.
"Inflation has hit everybody. That's probably number one. I mean, that hits everybody. That's probably number one," he said.
"You can spend $300,000 or $400,000 on a tractor and $1m on a new combine. And to justify that, you'd need 10,000 acres of crop."
Trump is shaping up for victory in swing states, where the election will be decided. Opinion polls had him ahead before the assassination attempt.
Kristin Robran, a ceramic artist in Waukesha, told Paste BN: "I think it humanises him. He got up. It showed how strong he was, he kept fighting."
The assassination attempt on Trump didn't change the voting choice of artist Donna Krischan. She described the presidential election thus: "A good man versus a not so good man."
Asked which was which, she replied: "I'm going to vote for Biden."
Read more:
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What could his running mate mean for Ukraine and NATO?
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Tap hereThe Biden voting choice was shared by local resident Eli Larson, who said: "I know where my moral compass is located and there's one candidate that clearly aims one direction and one aims the other direction."
One of the key questions in the swing state of Wisconsin and others is how many swing voters are left?
How many can be undecided between candidates who've both been in office and have presented clear cases for comparison and contrast?
Come November, the election in WOW and wider Wisconsin could be decided less by a swing vote than by getting the vote out.
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