Since President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race on July 21 and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, enthusiasm within the party has noticeably shifted.
On July 25 in West Allis, Wisconsin, Harris made her first public appearance since Biden ended his reelection bid.
“The path to the White House goes through Wisconsin,” Harris said at the West Allis Central High School rally near Milwaukee. “I will spend the coming weeks continuing to unite our party.”
Soon after her visit to Wisconsin, she secured enough Democratic delegate votes to become the party’s nominee. Her nomination made history as Harris became the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to be at the top of a major party’s ticket.
Harris announced her vice presidential running mate pick in early August, as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, which made Walz part of the most accelerated vice presidential search in modern history. At the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago last week, Walz accepted the party’s nomination for vice president and introduced himself to a national audience that might not have been familiar with him before.
Walz drew on his background as a teacher and football coach, his service in the National Guard and stories about his family’s fertility challenges—elements of his life that Republicans have scrutinized since Harris selected him.
Growing enthusiasm for the Harris-Walz ticket was not seen just at the DNC, but right here in La Crosse.
Chair of the La Crosse Democratic Party and Chair of the 3rd Congressional District Democrats of Wisconsin William Garcia said, “We haven’t in many years seen the kind of enthusiasm and excitement we are seeing now.”
He explained how the local party’s office, located at 2318 State Rd in La Crosse, has seen more traction since Harris became the Democratic nominee.
“People are volunteering for shifts,” Garcia said. “I’ve got people dropping by the office begging for work, I’ve got people donating money without being solicited.”
Tina Pohlman current vice chair of the La Crosse Democratic Party, has been a member since 2008 during the Obama-McCain election. “The enthusiasm has picked up like it was in Obama ’08, I almost would say even more,” Pohlman said. “I have not seen this kind of energy in a long time.”
In what turned out to be the final weeks of Biden’s campaign, event crowds were reported as older and held less energy. After what many called a rough performance by Biden at the debate against Republican nominee Donald Trump on June 27, Biden supporters at his rally in Madison on July 5 were still assured he could win.
Some previous supporters in La Crosse felt differently. “I think it was time for Joe to step aside, the energy just wasn’t there,” said Pohlman. “People were actually returning their Biden-Harris signs.”
Following Walz’s acceptance speech at the DNC, the campaign saw an influx of donations to round out the reported $40 million raised during the four-day long convention. Her campaign said Sunday it had received a total of $540 million since Harris launched her presidential bid a month ago.
President Bidens‘s reelection campaign announced they’d raised $264 million in the year’s second quarter and the Trump campaign announced a more robust total of $331 million for the second quarter.
Donations to the Harris-Walz campaign have increased in the La Crosse area. “As soon as it switched from Biden to Harris people were just walking in with money,” said Pohlman.
As students at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and universities around the nation begin to head back to school, the Harris-Walz campaign is pushing its outreach to Gen Z voters. On Tuesday, the campaign informed National Public Radio that it will focus on expanding its efforts with new digital ads targeting campus and social media platforms. They also plan to double their youth organizing staff nationwide and initiate a college campus tour in key battleground states, including Wisconsin.
The campaign has found its way from national news sites to the “For You” pages of many Gen Z voters. On TikTok and other social media platforms, the saying “Kamala is Brat” has gone viral after British pop singer Charli XCX tweeted the now popular phrase following the release of her new album, Brat.
Labeled “the cool dad” on social media, Walz’s selection as the Democratic running mate sparked a wave of online memes, including one with the caption, “To the window to the Walz,” a reference to the hit 2003 rap song “Get Low” by Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz, who then performed at the DNC last week.
Chair of UWL College Democrats Emily Anderson finds the social media presence of the campaign to be entertaining. “People will see Kamala Harris on their For You page, or see Tim Walz on his TikTok account, and it’s a great way of cheap marketing where you are able to connect with people, especially young voters where this is going to be their first presidential election,” she said.
Anderson attended the Harris-Walz visit to the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee with other members of the student organization, joined by 18,000 attendees. She shared other members have gone to rallies hosted in Eau Claire and West Allis in support of Harris and Walz.
“Not everyone is a Democrat, not everyone is a Republican, but make sure you vote,” said Anderson in a comment directed towards all UWL students.
While at Eagle Fest on Sept. 6, UWL students can find UWL College Dems at with local representatives and out in the community raising support for the youth vote and the Harris-Walz campaign.
The Trump campaign plans to visit the La Crosse Center on Thursday, Aug. 29th. A press release from the Harris-Walz campaign stated:
Wisconsin Democratic Coordinated Campaign Rapid Response Director Kristi Johnston released the following statement in response to Donald Trump’s plans to visit La Crosse on Thursday:
“Next week in La Crosse, Donald Trump will have to answer the key question on Wisconsin voters’ minds: why is he trying to make life harder and more expensive for my family? In every corner of the state, Trump’s extreme Project 2025 agenda would hurt Wisconsinites: killing Wisconsin jobs and shipping them overseas, imposing a tariff that could cost middle-class families $3,900 a year, banning abortion in the state and across the country, and cutting essential support for farmers. Wisconsinites look forward to his explanations.”
