Photo: Jae C. Hong Associated Press Campaign signs hang on a fence in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 13, 2024
Shaun Tandon – Agence France-Presse in Appleton
Published at 9:08 a.m. Updated at 3:27 p.m.
- United States
Michael Hovde doesn’t like Donald Trump’s platform. But for this voter in the key state of Wisconsin, the stakes in November’s presidential election go beyond mere political concerns: “Trump is an existential threat to democracy.”
“Terrifying” people surround the billionaire, says the 36-year-old, who we met in downtown Appleton, in Outagamie County, one of the most politically divided places in the state.
He cites in particular the famous Project 2025, a program shaped by an influential conservative think tank and which takes up many of the ideas put forward by Donald Trump. The former president, however, publicly distanced himself from the text.
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According to Michael Hovde, these conservatives “really want to circumvent the checks and balances and muzzle the effectiveness of our political system.”
Not far away, beyond the city’s lush lawns and elegant Victorian homes, Casey Stern, 58, is championing the Republican candidate.
In his yard, above the corn and zucchini, a “Trump 2024” flag flies. Another banner calls for the impeachment of Joe Biden with the message “We the people are pissed” (“We the people are pissed”).
If the message is direct, the reactions of passersby are also direct, between profanities hurled from the street or letters received at his home.
He acknowledges that Donald Trump’s “mean posts in the middle of the night” can be disturbing, but says the country needs a leader “with an iron will” to address Americans’ concerns: inflation, immigration and crime.
“Every time you go shopping, you can’t afford to buy a steak,” he laments.
He scoffs at Democratic accusations that Donald Trump is endangering democracy and accuses President Joe Biden of stifling public debate about the COVID-19 pandemic.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000For him, “Biden has done more to harm democracy.”
“Making accounts”
If there is one state where the Democratic message portraying Donald Trump as a threat to democracy can mobilize voters, it is Wisconsin.
Once known for its polite politics, the state has transformed into an epicenter of partisanship and a key swing state for the November election.
Donald Trump narrowly won the state in the 2016 election before being narrowly reclaimed by Joe Biden in 2020.
The election of Scott Walker as governor in 2010 was a turning point: the Republican implemented radical changes that were far removed from the state’s moderate political customs.
He stripped power from unions and his team redrew the electoral maps to secure Republican support in the state.
But in November, Democrats are hoping for a comeback, thanks to less conservative electoral maps. partisan, established following a decision of the State Supreme Court.
Kristin Alfheim, a Democratic candidate for state Senate, believes that this increased competitiveness of districts can only be good for democracy.
“It keeps both parties accountable, knowing that they're going to have to work together,” she says.
“A question of fairness”
For Arnold Shober, a professor at Lawrence University in Appleton, concerns about democracy have “particular resonance” in Wisconsin since Scott Walker's defeat in 2018.
But it can be a double-edged sword: Republican voters, who fear disorder, remember the protests, albeit nonviolent, at the Capitol in the State against Mr. Walker's anti-union measures, called Act 10.
And “when you talk about January 6 [the 2021 storming of the Capitol in Washington] in Wisconsin, right-wingers immediately say, ‘What about the Democrats on Act 10 ??’” Shober says. “They see it as a question of fairness: ‘You did it, so we can do it.’” »
A 19th-century paper capital, Outagamie County was long dominated by Republicans.
But Appleton, with its cocktail bars, artisan bakeries and independent shops, is increasingly becoming Democratic territory.
It’s a local version of the urban-rural divide that’s gripping the country.
The county’s top official, Tom Nelson, though a left-leaning politician, has been reelected consistently since 2011 despite the political polarization that has arisen under Mr. Trump, a man he says has “stoked this malice, this contempt, this hatred.”
Mr. Nelson says he has succeeded in rallying people around a simpler message than protecting democracy: People “want to be able to live in a safe and healthy environment, with a strong and vibrant economy.”