'We can beat Donald Trump:' Wisconsin Dems make final Biden push
MILWAUKEE - Former Vice President Joe Biden is looking to flip Wisconsin in his favor with polling places opened on Election Day.
In the crucial hours before the polls close Tuesday evening, FOX6 News is told that Biden supporters' strategy is not to host large gatherings, but rather to engage voters in other ways.
Biden has been critical of President Donald Trump's crowded campaign events and his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike the Republican Party, Wisconsin Democrats are not hosting a large watch party on election night.
Biden campaign surrogates have been on the ground doing small, in-person press events outside -- including at an office near 1st and Pittsburgh in Walker's Point on Tuesday evening.
Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes were in attendance. Barnes said he thinks it is unfortunate that Republicans are hosting large, in-person watch parties.
The lieutenant governor's comments echo Biden's criticisms of President Trump's crowded campaign events and his handling of COVID-19.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said she feels the energy from Biden supporters, and said she's confident that strong early voting turnout will bode well for Biden.
"Joe Biden of course has been very careful and respectful of the best public health efforts," Sen. Baldwin said. "It was this president’s lack of leadership, and then his campaign conduct where he has held super-spreader events including events in Wisconsin where people have very likely become ill from those events. So irresponsible."
You Decide 2020: Track election results as they come in
Earlier in the day, near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Vine Street in Milwaukee, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore and Sen. Baldwin along with State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Lt. Gov. Barnes urged Wisconsinites to elect the former vice president as the next commander in chief.
"We know we have to rebuild. And like Joe Biden says, it is about building back better, it’s about restoring the soul of the nation. So think about your vote, if you have not voted already, what does it mean?" Barnes said. "We are going to provide hope, we are going to provide opportunity, if we can beat Scott Walker, we can beat Donald Trump in Wisconsin."
Godlewski told FOX6 News that voters casting their ballot for Biden are "voting for hope over fear, science over fiction and truth over lies."
Joe Biden meets with Wisconsin Democrats at Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport on Oct. 30, 2020.
"The White House runs through Wisconsin. We saw in 2016 that we lost by literally five votes per precinct," said Godlewski. "These past four years have been really hard, Wisconsinites have been worried about COVID, the economy, are they still going to have healthcare coverage, and their voice matters. If they turn out to polls they can actually have a say in what the future is going to look like."
The group spoke to key issues for Biden supporters on Tuesday, including the minimum wage, immigration and the pandemic.
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Biden last visited Wisconsin on Friday, holding a small private event at Mitchell International Airport.
Biden made his final campaign stop in western Pennsylvania on Monday night -- where he kicked things off in April 2019.
Tuesday morning, Biden attended church and visited his late son Beau's grave in Delaware before returning to his roots, visiting his childhood home in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
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