Campaigns in Wisconsin adjust to COVID-19 conditions as they prep for November

In this battleground state, where activity has been ramping up in preparation of the Nov. 3 contests for well over a year, officials on both sides say their operations are the ones best suited to deliver victories for their respective candidates up and down the ballots. 

But it continues to be an election year like no other. With the COVID-19 crisis continuing and cases surging in the state, the virus' past, present and future has and will continue providing challenges for voter outreach efforts and strategies over the next three-and-a-half months, or just under 100 days. 

Though both President Donald Trump's and former Vice President Joe Biden's operations are working to increase virtual and social media contacts, the Republican Party of Wisconsin has continued knocking on doors this summer and interacting with prospective voters in person. Meanwhile, Democrats say they're prioritizing outreach "without risking the health and safety of voters." 

Ahead of what will be Wisconsin's third statewide pandemic-era election, both sides also say they're applying key lessons they learned from April to their operations. Republicans say they won't "be shy about pushing early vote and mail-in voting," while Democrats say they'll work to continue "meeting voters where they're at" in a virtual capacity.  

Campaigning and COVID-19 

While the state Republican Party isn't avoiding in-person voter contacts and events — GOP officials welcomed over 300 to their state convention in Green Bay this month — the large rallies Trump is known for are on hold for now. 

Republican Party of Wisconsin executive director Mark Jefferson said while "losing those have been a little bit of a problem," he noted that Wisconsin Republicans were fortunate that the president visited the state several times in the past.

Pointing to rallies in Mosinee, Eau Claire, La Crosse, Green Bay and Superior, Jefferson noted Trump didn't just focus on southeastern Wisconsin like past Republican presidential contenders John McCain and Mitt Romney, "where they would fire up their base and then skip town."

"The president has come to areas throughout Wisconsin, and they’ve understood that you can’t just leave a pocked of the state untouched and hope that they turn out and then think they’re going to carry the state," he said. 

Still, Republican candidates and volunteers are out knocking on doors in most of the state, though Jefferson noted it was more of a challenge in urban areas "and we've tried to be respectful of that, too."

In-person events are fewer than in past cycles, Jefferson said, and include both indoor and outdoor gatherings hosted at the county level, with leaders making masks available for those who want them. He added the party is also working to implement an "aggressive social media plan" that was already in the works ahead of the COVID-19 crisis. 

"People observe social distancing. They don't want to be in there for hours at a time if they're getting together," he said. "It's different, there's no question about that."

Democrats, though, reiterated their commitment to reaching people virtually, rather than engaging in traditional door-to-door and in-person outreach efforts. 

Biden's Wisconsin state director Danielle Melfi said residents "want to have their health and safety be respected." 

Though unique from others, this cycle, Melfi said, is similar in the sense that the priority remains the same: "always meeting voters where they are." 

"Folks are home, folks are on their phones, folks are online, so how are we making sure we’re safely connecting with voters on the issues that matter most to them?" she said.

One of the campaign's most recent efforts was an organizing event last week hosted by Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes which touted the VP's clean energy and sustainable infrastructure plans and kicked off a weekend of phone calls. 

While that's something that traditionally would have occurred in-person, Melfi said "it still had the effect of connecting folks all across the state on the issues that matter most to them." 

Lessons from spring primary

The April 7 election — the state's first during the age of COVID-19 — produced a big win for Democrats. 

Then, liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Jill Karofsky toppled conservative Justice Daniel Kelly to win a full 10-year term on the bench.  

But ahead of the contest, confusion came in the form of a series of last minute legal orders, with the state Supreme Court overruling Gov. Tony Evers' directive to postpone the election til June 14 hours before polls were set to open, and the U.S. Supreme Court cutting short an extended absentee ballot voting window in the state. 

Democratic Party Trump Rapid Response spokesman Philip Shulman pointed to the party's digital efforts and expanded voter protection efforts that sought to deal with problems on the fly while fielding hundreds of requests from voters on April 7. 

The party had converted its field team to a digital one weeks before the spring election, he noted. 

"April was sort of the first big test: Can you pull this off, can you do this? And with what little time we had, we did so with great success," he added. "So looking at how much time we’re going to have this time around, I think it’s clear that we’re going to be able to reach more folks, we’re going to be able to educate them the way we need to and ultimately we’ll be able to turn out a lot of voters to vote absentee and to make sure their ballots are being cast." 

For Republicans, Jefferson noted both "practical, on the ground lessons" from April as well as new insight from the courts in terms of their opposition to rule changes pre-election. 

The big takeaway, though, is the party shouldn't "be shy about pushing early vote and mail-in voting." 

Pointing to his support of the Wisconsin Elections Commission's plan to send millions of registered voters across the state absentee ballot applications, Jefferson said that no matter where a person lives, "you should have equal access to the polls." 

But he added the party would still send absentee ballot applications to its supporters as well "to try to push them to the polls early."

Jefferson noted those who vote early and by mail tend to skew more Democratic, while Election Day ballot-casters skew a bit more Republican. 

"That's why we've fought so hard to make sure that polls are open," he said, later adding: "We'll work hard to give people as many options as possible (to vote) and trust them to decide for themselves." 

Built-up operations 

Both GOP and Democratic officials say party and campaign apparatuses in the state have been built up over the last few years in the lead-up to the fall. 

Those operatives say the party-campaign infrastructure has become fully integrated on each side of the aisle. 

Among Democrats, the party Friday released a memo noting "the early investment" it made in communities across Wisconsin dating back to the beginning of 2017, when members of the field team began forming neighborhood field teams, or local groups of volunteers to organize in their communities. 

That, the memo said, contributed to statewide wins in 2018 by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, among others, as well as in April 2020. 

Describing the Biden campaign and DPW's relationship as an "incredibly close partnership," Melfi noted the party has had organizers on the ground for multiple elections. 

"So we're really excited to be building off of the investment in the coordinated campaign and in the organizing infrastructure so we all start running in one direction, which we have been since I've been on the ground," she said. 

Melfi, who previously served as Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin's political engagement chief in her successful 2018 re-election bid, began in her role last month. 

Joining her on the ground are former Baldwin campaign manager Scott Spector, now a senior adviser for Biden, as well as Garren Randolph, former political director for Gov. Tony Evers' 2018 campaign and current deputy state director, and Shirley Ellis, an adviser to U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore. She'll work as a strategic adviser for the Biden campaign following the DNC this August. 

Stressing the need to make investments in Milwaukee as well as the western and northern parts of the state, Melfi said officials are "not taking anything for granted." 

"We have folks with the experience on the team to win Wisconsin," she said. "And we know that we need to connect with folks all across the state."

The party also raised $10 million in the second quarter of the year, split between its federal and state accounts, as officials seek to prevent legislative Republicans who control the Assembly and Senate from securing a veto-proof majority. At the top of the ticket, latest Marquette University Law School Poll, from mid-June, found Biden leading Trump 49% to 41%. 

On the Republican side, where Trump Victory — a joint operation of the Republican National Committee and Trump campaign — last July instated a new state director and RPW built out a neighborhood team model over the winter, officials say they've got a leg up on Democrats in their on-the-ground efforts in the state.  

Trump Victory spokeswoman Anna Kelly said any "law-minute investment" from Democrats won't "be able to overcome our long-standing effort in Wisconsin." 

“After years of developing relationships with voters and honing our statewide infrastructure, Wisconsin Trump Victory is working seamlessly with the Republican Party of Wisconsin to continue building and investing in an unstoppable political machine ahead of November," she added. 

While national media reports showed Biden's campaign had sought to employ more than 600 staffers in battleground states by the end of last month, Kelly said at this point, Trump Victory's field effort "was more than double" that level. 

Already, she noted, Trump Victory has logged more than 6 million voter contacts in Wisconsin this cycle, after maintaining a presence in communities across the state since 2016. The effort had an advantage in knowing who the GOP nominee would be this cycle, without having to go through a presidential primary, like both parties did four years ago. 

DPW and the Biden campaign declined to share their figures with the Cap Times.