“There’s a difference between voting for a Republican and voting for someone who actively wants to tear our country apart,” said Garner, who supports Harris.

I’m in the city of Waukesha and stopped by the county Democratic headquarters because this political area near Milwaukee is the battleground within the Wisconsin battleground.

There are three Republican counties (Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington) called “WOW” counties where Democrats have made gains over the past few years.

Wisconsin is one of seven swing states where voters will decide whether Harris or Trump wins the White House with 10 Electoral College votes. Purple because Wisconsin elected Joe Biden in 2020 and Donald Trump in 2016; Less than 1% of the votes determined the outcome.

Unlike deep blue Illinois, where there are no major rivalries, our neighbors to the north have been the target of intense presidential campaigns; in person and under a barrage of video ads paid for by campaigns and outside groups.

For Democrats, keeping the GOP vote down in “WOW” counties is as important as boosting turnout in Democratic strongholds Madison and Milwaukee.

Biden lost Waukesha County in 2020 with 39% of the vote. But that’s an improvement from the 35 percent Hillary Clinton received in the county in 2016.

The Waukesha County Democratic Party operates out of an old house a few blocks off Main Street. Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was campaigning at a Main Street coffee shop on Oct. 28 with Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly, a longtime Republican who is now an independent and is backing Harris.

It was also on Main Street where I interviewed a woman I saw wearing a “,la” button on her denim jacket. If you don’t understand – say – “comma-la.”

Cathy Milosch, 62, is retired and lives near Waukesha. He supported Clinton in 2016. I asked him why things are so divided here.

“I find this very confusing,” he said. “I have friends who are Republicans, and I try to talk to them about why they feel the way they do. And I think they either listen to a different set of news than I do; (or) they will get most of their information from the internet.”

Milosch expressed what he calls “common sense” when it comes to Trump’s flaws (racism, sexism, criminal charges, constant lies, insults, etc.): “I feel like they can’t see it. It’s like they’re on a completely different plane of knowledge.”

I asked him how it would affect him personally if Trump won again.

“I think there will be a lot of anxiety about the unknown. You know, is he going to go after all the Democrats who donate? “This election is the first time in my life that I am donating to an election.”

Milosch said he made seven or eight small donations of $25 to $30 to the Harris campaign, totaling $150 to $175. “If Trump were in office, I think there would be chaos.

“I think it’s going to be inflation, I think we’re going to have a recession next year or the middle of next year because of the things he wants to do. I think people will stop spending money. I’m afraid of what the future will bring,” Milosch said.

When I interviewed two Trump supporters, I encountered a completely different approach. Jerry Breske, 53, owns a construction company, and his fiancée, Brenda Dean, 47, is a manager at a decorative panel manufacturer. We spoke at Joey’s Cafe on Main Street.

This is Breske’s third vote for Trump.

From where? Breske said: “He’s a businessman and not a typical politician… he was getting us back on our feet, energy independent, and taking money from other countries that we helped protect that we normally should have been giving away. They give them money and continue to protect them, and they don’t hold up their end of the bargain. So that’s one of the main reasons why I voted for Trump.”

I asked him if any of the Trump debates gave him pause.

Breske was forgiving. “We are all sinners. Yes, there was one who wasn’t like that, Jesus Christ, but there was never another person who didn’t sin. … I think people take a lot of things he said out of context. He is a very bright individual, he has a very high IQ, he is very funny. And sometimes when he speaks rashly, it can come off as rash… The people who want to look at it in a bad light are the ones who don’t like him.”

He continued: “If people understood Trump better, I think they would really like him and pray he would be our president.” Breske’s summary: “We need to fix the country. “Inflation has gone crazy, and that’s happened in the last four years.”

The dean said he voted for Trump in 2020 and Clinton in 2016.

He favors Trump, among other reasons, because, “I make most of the money I’ve ever made in salary and live check to check. I shouldn’t have to do this. It’s a struggle. It’s a struggle. “I believe we are not safe right now, and I believe it is in our country’s best interest.”

When asked how Trump would change his life, Dean said, “I feel like I can face it all over again when Trump is president.”

I asked Governor Evers about Wisconsin being a swing state. “I don’t see this as a benefit or a shortcoming. “I just think Wisconsin is like that,” he replied.