The pandemic has forced all campaigns, Democratic and Republican, to find creative ways to get people’s attention and bring people together in low-risk ways. It’s one reason supporters of President Donald Trump have had so many boat parades this summer. Both Democratic and Republican conventions in August included drive-in watch parties for their partisans.
Lee Snodgrass, left, stands with eight-year-old Mae Gerwe as they stand on a sidewalk during a campaign event Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020, in Appleton. Snodgrass is running for a seat in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Angela Major/WPR
In mid-August, Snodgrass hosted a unique political fundraiser. “Pollinators and Politics” was a walking tour of some of Appleton’s gardens and backyard beehives, led by Lawrence University biology professor Israel Del Toro. A group of about a dozen supporters wore masks and kept their distance on the walk as they learned about bees and ate cookies provided by the candidate.
“We have had to be really creative about how we gather,” Snodgrass said. “We were just laughing the other day about how the ‘fun bar’ is really low these days — so things like this, that maybe people wouldn’t have showed up at usually, they’re really interested in doing now.”
A group of people at a campaign event for Lee Snodgrass stand in a circle while learning about bees and pollinator gardens Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020, in Appleton. Angela Major/WPR
GOP Criticizes Biden For Not Coming To Wisconsin As Trump, Pence Visit Frequently
In his speech at the Republican National Convention, Trump said his party condemns “in the strongest possible terms … the rioting, looting, arson and violence we have seen in Democrat-run cities like Kenosha.” Less than a week later, he visited Kenosha, where he met with police, surveyed damaged buildings and blamed violence in the city that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, on Democratic mayors and radical leftists.
President Donald Trump approaches the lectern during a rally in Oshkosh on Monday, Aug. 17, 2020. Angela Major/WPR
The message was in line with Trump’s national appeal. The location was consistent with his campaign’s political strategy. It was the sixth time Trump or Vice President Mike Pence had appeared in Wisconsin this year. The contrast between the Republican and Democratic tickets has been one Republicans are eager to point out. Ahead of the all-virtual Democratic National Convention that was originally set to take place in Milwaukee, Republican Party chairman Andrew Hitt said Biden was “hiding from Wisconsin” and “just completely mailing it in here.”
But two days after the president went to Kenosha, Biden made his own vist to the city. He met privately with Blake’s family, and spoke and heard from community leaders at a local church. Masks were required at the event and attendance was limited to a couple dozen people.
It was the campaign’s first visit to Wisconsin in the 2020 election cycle. Given Wisconsin’s status as one of the nation’s most closely divided swing states, it may not be the last.
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks as he meets with members of the community at Grace Lutheran Church in Kenosha, Wis., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020. Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo
In races farther down the ballot, Zoom discussions and outdoor meetups proliferate, and there will be more of them in the next two months — as well as more in-person events. A Madison Democratic Assembly candidate, Francesca Hong, a chef, announced on Thursday that she will be part of “socially distanced and masked up COOKING campaign events” with six other Assembly candidates around the state.
Candidates at all levels have to weigh the risks of turning voters off with behavior that can be perceived as reckless with the benefits that come from old-fashioned voter contacts. And they’ll balance the efficacy of their online organizing with the need to reach new voters face-to-face. The election in Nov. 3.
“I would love to be able to take it for granted,” Snodgrass, the Appleton Assembly candidate said. “It would make my life a lot easier if I didn’t have to work to win this seat.”
