WASHINGTON — If you wonder about the timing of President Joe Biden fundraising in Chicago on Wednesday — with Vice President Kamala Harris collecting campaign cash at a North Shore reception aimed at women donors May 16 — the reason is simple.
Chicago is a short hop from Milwaukee and Racine in battleground state Wisconsin.
Biden and Harris each will be making their fourth visit to Wisconsin this election year — Biden in Racine on Wednesday and Harris in Milwaukee next week, the same day as her reception in north suburban Chicago.
If the Democratic convention were not taking place in Chicago this August, there would be almost no presidential attention paid to blue state Illinois, except for fundraising. Illinois has backed Democrats for president since 1992.
It’s another world over the border in Wisconsin.
The Biden-Harris team and the Wisconsin Democratic Coordinated Campaign have a massive operation: 46 offices and more than 80 staffers on the ground. With most Black voters — and other key Democratic constituencies — in southeast Wisconsin, the Biden-Harris Wisconsin team headquarters is in Milwaukee.
Trump narrowly beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 in Wisconsin, and Biden beat Trump by a smidgen there in 2020, with each contest decided by less than 1 percent of the vote.
Top Biden-Harris campaign officials — principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks, a former top political adviser to Gov. J.B. Pritzker; battleground states director Dan Kanninen; and communications director Michael Tyler— briefed reporters Tuesday about the campaign’s focus this month on the key swing states where a relatively small number of voters will decide who wins the White House this November.
They noted the lack of a Trump ground game in Wisconsin and other states.
“The general election has just started to crystallize for voters across the country,” Fulks said. “And we’re taking advantage of the moment to meet them where they are.”
Said Kanninen, in the battleground states, by “the end of this month, we will have at least 200 offices and 500 staff. Our battleground presence reflects our core strategy. We know that to win in this election, we need to reach both the traditional swing voters, as well as the diverse communities that have historically made up our Democratic base.”
Racine is a very intentional choice.
In 2018, Trump, with much fanfare, traveled there for the groundbreaking ceremony to mark the construction — with heavy government subsidies — of a plant for the Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn. Foxconn fizzled. It’s one of Trump’s biggest economic flops. The 13,000 promised jobs never happened; just about 1,000 are employed.
Biden will highlight a $3.3 billion investment by Microsoft to build an artificial intelligence data center in Racine — on parts of the same land Foxconn was supposed to occupy. Biden will be talking about 2,300 union construction jobs and eventually 2,000 permanent positions.
In Milwaukee, Harris will highlight the success of the administration’s economic agenda as part of her Economic Opportunity Tour, promoting the investments made possible by the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Biden-Harris campaign focus on Wisconsin Black voters
Garren Randolph, the Wisconsin Democratic Coordinated Campaign manager, said in a memo to “interested parties” that Biden, in addition to attending the Microsoft event, “will make a campaign stop to speak with Black voters about the stakes of this election.
“Ahead of the president’s arrival, attendees at the campaign event will participate in a training on how to use an app, REACH, that helps voters connect with people they already know about the importance of the election in November. Over the last several months, REACH has been used successfully by Team Biden-Harris supporters and volunteers in the Black community as part of a first-of-its-kind relational organizing program in Milwaukee.”
The Biden campaign — and this strategy is not new among campaigns in this era — is often bypassing mainstream legacy news organizations, favoring outlets with specialized audiences. That’s why Biden appeared on the Howard Stern show recently. In Wisconsin, Biden, Harris and top surrogates have given interviews to hosts of radio shows targeting Black listeners.
Democrat-allied groups get Chicago convention preview
Also on Wednesday, some 150 representatives of Democrat-allied groups will be in Chicago for a briefing on the convention at the United Center, where the official convention business will take place Aug. 19-22. Democratic National Convention Committee Chair Minyon Moore and Joe Myhra, United Center senior vice president for operations and administration will be briefing.
Among the Democrat-allied groups at the briefing with be representatives of the AFL-CIO, Everytown for Gun Safety, Reproductive Freedom for All, and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
The vice president spoke about reproductive rights and the critical importance of the upcoming election at a fundraiser in a Glencoe home.
By Isabel Funk
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Hay talento sin aprovechar que nuestra ciudad tiene que ofrecer, y es fundamental impulsar más recursos permanentes como los que se están construyendo para la convención.
The Southern Poverty Law Center urged Mayor Brandon Johnson and Police Supt. Larry Snelling to reconsider the decision not to take disciplinary action against eight officers connected to the Oath Keepers, six of whom admitted to joining the group.
There is untapped talent our city has to offer, and it is critical to push for more permanent resources like the ones being built for the convention.
Ald. Brian Hopkins plans to hold hearings to find out how the CTA will cope with bus service and other contingencies in August.
By Fran Spielman
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The Israel-Hamas war is heightening fears of unrest, but convention leaders say they’re confident in their partnerships with Mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling and the U.S. Secret Service.
By Tina Sfondeles
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From endorsing a new Bears stadium to revoking the subminimum wage, Brandon Johnson’s critics and allies examine where he and the city are going.
‘The X is the event,’ Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Chicago Sun-Times about the location, which will be the central hub for about 60 agencies involved in designing and implementing convention security.
By Lynn Sweet
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Biden, stopping in Chicago after a campaign tour of swing-state Wisconsin, is mining the deep pockets of Democratic megadonors in Illinois.
Biden was last in Chicago on April 8 for a fundraiser. Chicago, which is hosting the Democratic National Convention in August, is a big source of campaign cash.
By Lynn Sweet
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On Aug. 20,1972, this reporter was assigned to cover the hordes of hippies, yippies, women’s libbers, Marxists, gay rights advocates, Black Panthers, and anti-Vietnam war vets tenting, talking, and toking it up in Miami’s Flamingo Park before the Republican National Convention kicked off.
By Michael Sneed
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The civil liberties group filed a federal lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws, a left-leaning group whose marching permit was denied by the city.
By David Struett
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“I remember coming out of my apartment one day and spotting Chicago cops dragging young protesters out of one section of Lincoln Park and shoving them into trucks, while nearby poet Allen Ginsberg was chanting in a circle of peaceful protesters not far away from the radical Abby Hoffman,” remembers Dan Webb, who later became a U.S. attorney.
By Michael Sneed
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It’s the second late-night series to announce local convention plans, after CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”
By Darel Jevens
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Preckwinkle said she expects the Democratic Party will be united behind President Joe Biden as he seeks reelection.
Five event production companies, nearly all based in Chicago, will be throwing the official parties for the Democratic National Convention in August.
By Amy Yee
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Democrats are deeply focused on Wisconsin and Michigan to help bolster President Joe Biden’s re-election chances — and officials, in town for meetings hosted by the Democratic National Convention Committee, say they plan on showing voters a deep party contrast.
By Tina Sfondeles
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The CBS fixture will be based at the Auditorium Theatre from August 19 to 22.
By Darel Jevens
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Votes on $70 million to help migrants and the bond issue to fund housing and economic development now are set for Friday. The Council was, however, poised to approve a slew of other measures.
By Fran Spielman
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In Chicago, the Democratic National Committee leaders will pick the members of the party’s platform, rules and credentials committees at the last party meeting before the August convention to renominate President Joe Biden.
By Lynn Sweet
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Ald. Brendan Reilly said he’s concerned paying a settlement to Bryan Mejia, who suffered a fractured leg and torn ACL, will invite protesters expected for the Democratic National Convention to wreak havoc, then bombard the city with lawsuits.
By Fran Spielman
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Protesters, residents and other DNC observers would be prohibited from bringing laptops, large bags, scooters and other items into certain areas closest to convention attendees under a proposed ordinance.
Pro-Palestinian protesters greeted Biden outside the Drake Hotel on the Gold Coast, where the president had a campaign meeting before making remarks at the fundraiser.
A Chicago fundraiser for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is expected to collected $2.5 million for the Biden Action Fund, a joint fundraising committee consisting of the Biden for President operation and the Democratic National Committee.
By Lynn Sweet
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This week, residents and businesses near the United Center and McCormick Place will receive briefings on how they will be impacted by convention security plans.
By Lynn Sweet
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Cristina Pacione-Zayas, having spent the last 11 months learning the ropes of city government as Rich Guidice’s top deputy, was the natural choice to replace Guidice.
By Fran Spielman
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The mayor made it clear he would not remove the City Council member for appearing at a rally where an American flag was burned to protest U.S. support for Israel.
By Fran Spielman
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The funds will help target a big problem for a city opening its doors to President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Convention in August. Just 17.94% of registered voters in suburban Cook County and 25.7% of registered voters in Chicago voted in the March 19 primary.
By Tina Sfondeles
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In between meetings with film and business leaders in California, Gov. J.B. Pritzker will fundraise for the Democratic National Convention Host Committee, including a reception in Los Angeles, and for abortion rights ballot initiatives in Arizona and Nevada.
By Tina Sfondeles
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The groups — both part of the Coalition to March on the DNC — filed for parade permits to march during the Aug-19 convention, but the city denied them, saying it would tie up traffic and require police officers it could not spare.
By David Struett
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