MADISON, Wis. —  On Oct 2nd, the Wisconsin Examiner reported how Democrats across Wisconsin are reaching out to rural voters under new, fair maps. As Democrats seek to hold and flip new legislative districts, they are focused on meeting voters where they’re at—including in rural Wisconsin—and finding new ways to engage in communities that were previously silenced under the old GOP gerrymander. 

Democrats like Sarah Keyeski (SD 14), Tara Johnson (AD 96), Karen DeSanto (AD 40), and Rep. Jodi Emerson (AD 91) are listening to voters in their districts about how best to represent them in Madison. With their help, Wisconsin is bucking the trend of letting rural areas fall into the trap of right-wing extremism by fighting for what all Wisconsinites want—affordable healthcare, clean water, mental health support for farmers, and most importantly, a voice in Madison that advocates for them.

Wisconsin Examiner: ‘We Have To Listen To Them’: Democrats Reach Out To Rural Voters In Newly Drawn Districts
By: Baylor Spears

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With Wisconsin’s new, more competitive legislative maps changing the dynamics of state-level races this year, rural voters like Updike will play a decisive role in shaping the state Legislature. Democrats, seeking to pick up additional seats in the state Assembly and Senate, are looking to win them over in November by meeting voters where they are. 

Wisconsin’s 14th Senate District sits north of Madison, covering parts of Dane, Columbia, Sauk and Richland counties, including the cities of Deforest, Reedsburg, Baraboo, Lodi, Columbus, Portage, Richland Center and Wisconsin Dells. It is one of Democrats’ top targets this year as they look to lay the groundwork for flipping the state Senate in future election cycles.

Democrat Sarah Keyeski, a political newcomer, and Republican Sen. Joan Ballweg, who is seeking her second term in the Senate, are vying for the seat. Updike attended a candidate forum last week focused on rural and small business issues hoping to hear from both candidates.

Ballweg didn’t attend the forum, however, which was hosted by Main Street Alliance, the Wisconsin Farmers Union and Wisconsin Early Childhood Association. Organizers set up a vacant chair in the Yahara River Learning Center classroom next to Keyeski. 

Keyeski, a mental health professional from Lodi, told attendees her work has mostly focused on helping people when they were “drowning.” In the state Legislature, she would want to go “upstream” to “keep people from falling in.” She expressed support for increasing the minimum wage, making health care more accessible by expanding Badgercare and for increasing funding for public schools. She also emphasized her rural roots — she grew up on a small dairy farm in Cashton.

While Updike said it’s not a done deal, she left the forum leaning toward voting for the Democrat in November.

“The Republicans aren’t at the table discussing the things that are important to me,” Updike said.

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Under the new maps, Vernon County is included in Assembly District 96, which also covers part of La Crosse and leans Democratic. The race also represents a test of Democrats’ commitment to reaching some of those rural communities.

Rep. Loren Oldenburg (R-Viroqua), who was first elected to the Assembly in 2018, faces Democrat Tara Johnson, a former La Crosse County Board member. 

Lawler said a win in the district is not a given, and Democrats are focusing on making the commitment to go down the “gravel roads” and talk to voters. 

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Johnson, who described herself as a “radical pragmatist,” was critical of the idea that the term “progressive” was being used in a negative way. She said many progressive ideas are popular throughout the rural areas where she is speaking with voters.

Rural communities “care about clean air and clean water,” she said, “and the way that clean air and clean water happens is that there are expectations and standards put into place.”  

She also hears from a lot of voters “that comprehensive health care, including reproductive care, including dental and vision and mental health care, is something that everybody has a right to,” Johnson added. “That’s a progressive idea that is very popular.”

“This state was built on progressive ideals, and when I talk to voters at doors, when I talk to voters at events, when I hear from people, they are supportive of those very common sense, very progressive, all-boats-rise ideas,” Johnson continued.

Karen DeSanto, the Democratic candidate for Assembly District 40, is taking a similar approach throughout the district — leaning on her ability to converse and connect with people. DeSanto faces Sauk County Republican Party Chair Jerry Helmer in November for the seat that represents parts of Sauk and Columbia counties, including Spring Green, Portage and Baraboo. 

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“Here’s what I discovered is — I believe in peace and I believe strong communities make great places to live and our schools are better and our kids and families are better,” DeSanto said. Those values brought her to the decision to run, she said. 

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Experienced lawmakers running for reelection are also being pushed into rural parts of the state in a way they haven’t been in previous years.

When Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) was first elected in 2018, the 91st Assembly District covered only the city of Eau Claire. The new 91st district includes part of Eau Claire as well as smaller cities, towns and villages including Altoona, Seymour, Fall Creek, Ludington, Bridge Creek and Otter Creek. 

While Emerson won in her prior general elections with more than 60% of the vote, the new district has only a slight Democratic lean. Emerson will face Republican Michele Magadance Skinner, an Eau Claire County Board supervisor, in the race for the seat in November. 

“It’s a very tight district now, but it should be,” Emerson said.

Rural voters in new parts of the district could play a key role in whether Emerson retains the seat. She said she’s been knocking on a lot of rural doors this year, which means a change in logistics. “Doing doors is a big piece of how we, as Democrats, do things for an election,” Emerson said. “Last weekend, I was in an area where it was like, ‘OK, go knock out a door, get back in the car, drive a half mile to the next door.” 

Emerson said there has been a “learning curve” with the new district. She said she’s been taking the time to meet new voters and to learn more about issues, including rural broadband, the way that townships interact with cities and counties and looking at school issues from a new perspective. Her old district included just one school district, while the new one includes all or part of eight.

Despite the shift, Emerson said, “I think at the same time we all have the same Wisconsin values of hard work and wanting our communities to be better. And that doesn’t change, no matter whether you’re in a city or in a rural area.”