On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, writer, conservative operative, and native Wisconsinite Brian Reisinger joins Culture Editor Emily Jashinsky to explain how Wisconsin politics offer an instructive window into the political realignment of rural voters, farmers, and former Democratic voters in so-called flyover country.
“If you can understand Wisconsin, you can understand where the conservative movement has been and where it’s going,” Reisinger explained. “That’s because of some of those top leaders. It’s also because of some of the things that happened that made Wisconsin really top battleground in 2020.”
While Democrats maintained a heavy presence in Wisconsin, especially with blue-collar workers and unions, for a long period of time, the working and rural electorate found a populist connection with GOP politicians and conservative policy like tax-cuts that benefit normal taxpayers like them.
It was the Wisconsin Republicans’ willingness to “run toward the political energy” that created this large and varied support for the GOP and Trump in the years leading up to the 2016 election.
“Parties are built by people. And if people are electing and gravitating towards someone then there’s something going on there and you’ve gotta understand it and you’ve gotta be able to tap into it and you’ve gotta be able to steer it, as opposed to just eschewing it,” Reisinger said.
You can read Reisinger’s article about Wisconsin as a battleground state here.
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