Former President Barack Obama rallied with Democrats in Milwaukee this past week, an attempt to rally the city’s Black voters ahead of the Nov. 8 election.”The reason I’m here is simple,” Obama said. “I am here to ask you to vote.”The allure, Democrats hope, is to mobilize Obama and close the deal as the party sees strong Republican headwinds.”To have a powerhouse like Barack Obama come into town, in the hood doing some good, I think this can stir the pot,” said Dwayne Mack, who attended the rally.Republicans are looking to make inroads too.A GOP field office is now present on the city’s north side, which includes growing and new outreach in an effort to increase Republican margins in historically Democratic neighborhoods.”The party has changed,” said Gerard Randall, first vice chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. “The party believes that if it’s going to grow, it needs to extend its reach to those voters that are now making up the new majority in the United States.”The larger question, though, as Rev. Greg Lewis with Souls to the Polls recently said, is turnout and whether Milwaukee’s Black voters this cycle will vote in numbers as they have before.”We have to make a concerted effort now toward November to make sure they hear that message,” Lewis said. “And maybe it will resonate in our community.” Ahead of Election Day, Obama has scheduled rallies with Democrats in Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
MILWAUKEE —
Former President Barack Obama rallied with Democrats in Milwaukee this past week, an attempt to rally the city’s Black voters ahead of the Nov. 8 election.
“The reason I’m here is simple,” Obama said. “I am here to ask you to vote.”
The allure, Democrats hope, is to mobilize Obama and close the deal as the party sees strong Republican headwinds.
“To have a powerhouse like Barack Obama come into town, in the hood doing some good, I think this can stir the pot,” said Dwayne Mack, who attended the rally.
Republicans are looking to make inroads too.
A GOP field office is now present on the city’s north side, which includes growing and new outreach in an effort to increase Republican margins in historically Democratic neighborhoods.
“The party has changed,” said Gerard Randall, first vice chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. “The party believes that if it’s going to grow, it needs to extend its reach to those voters that are now making up the new majority in the United States.”
The larger question, though, as Rev. Greg Lewis with Souls to the Polls recently said, is turnout and whether Milwaukee’s Black voters this cycle will vote in numbers as they have before.
“We have to make a concerted effort now toward November to make sure they hear that message,” Lewis said. “And maybe it will resonate in our community.”
Ahead of Election Day, Obama has scheduled rallies with Democrats in Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
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