BELLWETHER COUNTY
Abortion fight unites the left and rattles the right in key Wis. battleground
Story by Danielle Paquette and Sabrina Rodriguez
Photography by Carolyn Van Houten
Aug. 31 at 6:00 p.m.
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In late-summer interviews with dozens of county residents, conservatives said they are feeling the fallout of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision on the ground and are worried that Republicans will be hurt politically by a backlash in 2024. Buoyant Democrats, meanwhile, said they are benefiting from a surge of new energy from both their base and those who are not regular party activists.
No county is a crystal ball, but politicos here on both sides of the aisle say Door County offers a strangely reliable taste of the broader mood: Youll find more Trump signs in the rural southern end, where dairy farms stretch for miles; more RESIST buttons on the northern tip, where transplants from bluer cities have settled into lake houses; and a kaleidoscope of expression in the fishermans haven of Sturgeon Bay, the county seat, where everyone converges at the fair.
For five days at this summers expo, the Republicans operated a straw poll asking who should be the GOP nominee as the Democrats steered passersby toward Mason jars, each labeled with what they considered Americas most pressing issues. ... Fairgoers dropped beans in jars representing the most pressing political issues at the Democratic Party tent at the Door County Fair.
Drop a bean into the ones that are important to you, said Jensen-Olson, the membership specialist, as a woman with cropped blond hair, red-framed glasses and a can of Mug root beer walked up.
Let me see, replied Susan Lindner, 53, a dishwasher at a lakefront resort in town. ... Inflation? The environment? Affordable child care? Reproductive rights? ... She plunked a bean into reproductive rights.
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About this story
Analyses based on data from Dave Leips Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections and MIT Election Data and Science Lab.
Along with Door, the other bellwether counties that have voted for every presidential winner since 2000 are Delawares Kent; Minnesotas Clay; Montanas Blaine; New Hampshires Hillsborough; New Yorks Essex and Saratoga; Virginias Chesapeake (independent cities are counties in the state); and Washingtons Clallam.
Editing by Matea Gold, Natalia Jiménez, Christine Nguyen, Kevin Uhrmacher and Madison Walls. Data analysis by Dan Keating. Copy editing by Phil Lueck. Design and development by Aadit Tambe and Agnes Lee.
Story by Danielle Paquette
Danielle Paquette is a national correspondent for The Washington Post's America Desk. She previously served as West Africa bureau chief and has reported from more than 20 countries on four continents. Twitter
https://twitter.com/dpaqreport
Story by Sabrina Rodriguez
Sabrina Rodriguez is a national politics reporter for The Washington Post. She chronicles the evolving demographics in battleground states and the ways candidates, campaigns and interest groups seek to mobilize voter blocs large and small. Twitter
https://twitter.com/sabrod123
Photography by Carolyn Van Houten
Carolyn Van Houten is a staff photojournalist at the Washington Post. She was a recipient of the Overseas Press Club's Robert Capa Gold Medal, RFK Human Rights Award, and was named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 in Media. She was on the team that won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting. Twitter
https://twitter.com/vanhoutenphoto