Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison says “all the eyes of the nation” are on Wisconsin two weeks ahead of Election Day.
“The state is really, really important, not only in terms of deciding who wins the presidency but also who controls the United States Senate,” Harrison told WISN’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “It’s a split nation at this point, and it has been for a while now, so things haven’t changed. But at the end of the day, I think Kamala Harris is going to win this race.”
Harris joined Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at the end of a statewide bus tour targeting Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
“And so the path is, got to go through the blue wall states — Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania — really, really core,” Harrison said. “But we have a number of other alternative paths.”
Also on the show, Milwaukee Bucks Coach Doc Rivers says he’s received threats after his public endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, but plans to campaign for her ahead of Election Day.
“Because I’m a public figure, there’s a lot of hate,” Rivers said. “You’d be amazed at the texts and DMs I get on Instagram. Threatening. N-word. All kinds of things. And you’re fine with it. You have to be able to breathe through that and keep seeking the truth and speaking what’s right.”
Rivers is co-chair of the national group Athletes for Harris alongside others, including former NBA player Earvin “Magic” Johnson. He pushed back on fans or voters who criticize his endorsement off the court.
“We do stay in our lane,” Rivers said. “We play basketball, and we coach. But the person saying that should stay in their lane, too. I think, as I said on stage, I hate when someone says I’m not going to vote because I don’t want to get political, or you know, I don’t like politics. And my answer to that is politics are involved in your everyday decisions.”
Rivers said he is also encouraging Bucks players to get involved.
“I tell them to speak out,” Rivers said. “I don’t tell them who to vote for. I never do that. I tell them to speak out, let them hear your voice and feel good about it, either side. I don’t know how anyone is on the other side, but that’s just my opinion. That doesn’t make me right. I’m just speaking what I believe.”
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-New York, says convincing Republicans to vote early in key swing states like Wisconsin is key to Republican victories despite Trump sometimes criticizing early voting during campaign rallies.
“He has cut videos encouraging people to vote early at virtually every speech he gives,” the House GOP Conference chair said. “He talks about the importance of voting early, and he has worked with so many of the Republicans in various states to strengthen election integrity while also making sure there are legal ways to vote early.
“He is very clear that there needs to be a chain of custody,” Stefanik added. “It needs to be legal mail-in voting.”
Stefanik held several events in Wisconsin on Friday to campaign for Stefanik.
“Our focus is making sure people know the importance of voting,” she said. “This election is going to come down to turning out. Whoever turns out their voters is going to win this election, especially in swing states like Wisconsin. That goes for presidential, the key Senate races and also the House races. So I’m here today thanking our volunteers and getting out the message about the importance of voting.”
Stefanik, who’s also fundraising across the nation for Republicans, said she’s “very optimistic” Republicans will hold the House.
Stefanik said 1st District Rep. Bryan Steil of Janesville is “in a very strong position to win.”
“The other key congressional race in Wisconsin is Derrick Van Orden,” Stefanik said of western Wisconsin’s 3rd CD. “He flipped a district last cycle and is running a great campaign. This will be his first reelection. He is working to get out the vote, and I’m optimistic he will win, as well.”
U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, says he would not back a national abortion ban if legislation came before the U.S. House.
“Speaker Johnson has made clear that a national abortion ban is not going to move forward in the House,” Steil, who’s seeking reelection, told “UpFront. “And I would not support such a move in the House, either.
“I think President Trump has made clear, Speaker Johnson has made clear, and I would support not allowing that to move forward,” Steil added.
Steil, chair of the House Administration Committee, said he is “confident” Wisconsin will have safe and secure elections.
“We’ve been doing a lot of work to make sure that Wisconsin has a safe and secure election,” Steil said. “I’m confident that we can have that here in this state. I think my record on the topic speaks for itself. But we need to make sure that we’re working to secure our elections, which is why I support reasonable controls like photo ID. That’s a contrast to my opponent, who voted against photo ID when he was a legislator in Madison. And so I think we all need to be working to enhance the integrity of our elections, Americans’ confidence in their election.”
Meanwhile, Peter Barca, Steil’s Democratic opponent, countered claims he opposes photo ID as Democrats look to take back a seat Barca once held in the mid-90s.
“Well, first of all, I do support voter ID,” Barca said. “I do not support the extreme versions of voter ID that my opponent is pushing. He wants people to have to show a passport, and he’s trying to make it restrictive to limit people’s ability to vote.
“You know, when we were in the Legislature, they tried to make it so you couldn’t use your college identification card,” Barca added. “I think that’s outrageous. You know it should be easy for people to be able to prove where they live and be able to vote.”
Barca also pushed back on assertions from Republicans and his critics that he supports sanctuary cities.
“Well, I first of all want to make it clear, I am not for sanctuary cities,” Barca said. “So that’s a decision that’s made at a local level generally. And if I were a member of the city council in Janesville or Whitewater, I would not vote for that.”
When asked if he would vote on a federal sanctuary city ban, Barca said, “I would seek, first of all, we don’t have any in the First Congressional District. I would talk to them. I want to see how they feel, but I’d be open to that.”
The DCCC is pouring resources into Barca’s race as part of a national effort to flip key congressional districts.
“Now is the time when we need to not only flip this seat, but others as well,” Barca said. “We have a do-nothing dysfunctional Congress.”
Green Party candidate Chester Todd says his explicit goal in the 1st Congressional District race is to take votes from Democrats.
“My goal, and I’ve been straight up about it, is to show the Democrats you don’t have a lockdown on Black votes,” Todd said. “If we can take a certain percentage from the Democrats. If we can take a percentage away from him and let it ride and let my guy, brother Steil, stay where he’s at, maybe this will be a wake-up to the Democrats in this state.”
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