Wisconsin swing state profile

Wisconsin, famous for cheese, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and the American football team Green Bay Packers, is one of seven states that will decide the 2024 US presidential election.

Voting in swing states is difficult to predict and can be either Republican or Democratic – which is why you hear so much about them as the campaign draws to a close.

Here you will find everything you need to know.

5.9 million (same as Denmark)

It is one of the Big Three in the Midwest, along with Michigan and Pennsylvania, which gave Joe Biden victory in 2020.

The mix of cities, towns and large rural areas has made Wisconsin one of the most competitive states in 2024.

Republicans held their national convention in Milwaukee, where a triumphant Trump received a hero’s welcome after surviving a gunshot just days earlier. Kamala Harris held her first rally there in July. Both have returned to the state several times since then.

The Harris campaign hopes to attract voters like Sarah Weber, a 24-year-old engineer from Madison.

“Women’s rights are at the top of the list for me,” she says.

When Harris appears in the state, she tends to accuse Trump of being a threat to democracy and focus on his false election claims. But at Trump rallies, immigration is the big topic, and supporters talk about how their candidate — and by extension his supporters — have been treated unfairly. Fans appear unfazed by Trump’s legal troubles, and some suspect the criminal prosecution will backfire.

“It will definitely increase his popularity,” said Nancy Ridge, who attended a rally in Milwaukee wearing a jacket with Trump’s mugshot on the back.

“Especially among lower class people who have been convicted of crimes or even falsely accused. They understand the justice system and how corrupt it can be.”

Maximizing voter turnout in Dane County — which includes the capital city of Madison and Milwaukee County — could be the key to a Harris victory, says Michael Wagner, director of the Center for Communication and Civic Renewal at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Harris also needs to make sure she doesn’t lose votes in rural parts of the state, he adds.

He says Trump needs to do better in suburban districts where support for Republicans has waned. The main places to look are the counties surrounding Milwaukee, known as “wow” counties – Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington, he explains.

Reporting by Mike Wendling