David Michael Miller
The presidential campaign — at least the Democratic one — has officially arrived in Madison, with both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders opening offices here late last week.
And yes, they will have yard signs.
Serving as headquarters for voter outreach efforts before the April 5 Wisconsin primary, the Bernie Sanders office is downtown at 122 State St., while the Hillary Clinton camp is on the west side at 6409 Odana Road. The Republican candidates are also honing in on Wisconsin, although none appear to have opened offices in liberal-leaning Madison.
In the Dane County area of the 2nd Congressional District, there are 11 Democratic delegates up for grabs, the most of any district in the state, which has 57 total Democratic delegates.
Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School Poll, has conducted two polls of the Democratic presidential race this year. Combined results for January and February show Clinton and Sanders are in a 44%-44% tie statewide.
But in Madison, Sanders “is running well ahead compared to the state as a whole,” says Franklin. Here, 57% of voters approve of Sanders, with 28% favoring Clinton and 15% undecided.
Barry Burden, a UW-Madison political science professor, agrees that Madison is key to Sanders’ chances here. “Sanders managed to turn out thousands of people for a rally in Madison last summer,” he says, referring to Sanders’ appearance last July at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. “His supporters in the area are already organizing to turn out progressives on primary day. He will need to run especially well in the district if he is going to win the statewide vote.”
Sanders is expected to visit Wisconsin before the primary, but a time and place have not been set yet. Robert Dempsey, statewide director for Sanders’ Wisconsin effort, says his candidate has “tremendous” support here. He says the campaign is focused on “reaching out to the hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites who support Bernie Sanders and his message of economic equality and opportunity.”
Yianni Varonis, communications director for Clinton’s campaign in Wisconsin, says the campaign won’t concede the district’s delegates without a fight. “A broad coalition of Democrats have given Hillary Clinton a nearly insurmountable lead in pledged delegates, but she remains committed to earning every vote by sharing her plans to move our country forward,” Varonis says. “That is why Hillary Clinton is committed to Madison, committed to Dane County and committed to Wisconsin; and why our volunteers and staff have been on the ground for months and will continue to make phone calls, knock on doors and let voters know that Hillary Clinton is the only candidate who can break down the barriers holding Americans back.”
Clinton does not currently have any scheduled stops in Wisconsin before the April 5 election. But her daughter, Chelsea, will be in Madison on March 24, with visits also planned for Milwaukee and Waukesha.
Democratic strategist Joe Zepecki, who was the Wisconsin communications director for President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, says Madison voters are worth the effort.
“[It’s] a critical bloc for any statewide campaign in a Democratic primary due to the number of votes available and the reliable turnout,” he says. “In a presidential primary, that amplifies its importance.”
In addition to voting for the presidential nominee, Madison and Dane County voters will on April 5 vote for the next justice of the state Supreme Court and a handful of county supervisor seats.