Democrat Tammy Baldwin details recipe for swing state after Trump's Wisconsin win
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., successfully won re-election in Wisconsin all while President-elect Donald Trump simultaneously turned the state red in the presidential election.
As for how he did it, the Democrat credits much of his winning to his “72 state strategy.” Baldwin made sure during his cross-country campaign, traveling far from the two big blue areas of Milwaukee and Dane counties.
“I think I'm making news, listening news,” he said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “And I travel, and I really listen and know the challenges and aspirations of people across the state, rural areas, urban areas, urban areas.”
Baldwin won by several tens of thousands of votes in the state, winning by about the same margin as Trump.
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Sen. Baldwin was re-elected in Wisconsin as the state re-elected Donald Trump. (Reuters/File)
According to his campaign, he has held more than 250 events in Wisconsin in 2024 alone. He also hosted several targeted tours during his campaign, including his Dairyland Tour and his Tammy Tour.
In addition, Baldwin's campaign was targeting rural communities to deliver content about his agricultural work.
But his hard work isn't the only thing that got him to close the deal. The senator acknowledged that people can go everywhere, but they also need to effectively communicate with voters in each place they go.
One thing he noted is that he “has had years to earn the trust of Wisconsin voters,” referring to the few months when Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign had to vote for him in the state.
Baldwin also said that he convenes tables and forums on relevant issues while traveling in Wisconsin.
“So I did that, say, the fentanyl and opioid epidemic, I'm bringing together first responders, public health officials, concerned community members to talk about what the epidemic looks like in this community, in this part of the state? What are your biggest concerns?”
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A woman wears a Cheesehead hat with an American flag in Wisconsin. (Reuters/File)
He also held events focused on agricultural issues, he said.
Baldwin credits, in part, his work on agricultural issues for his re-election win. In early October, Baldwin received the endorsement of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation Board of Directors, a major victory for the Democrat in the statewide election.
“They mentioned many different ways that I applauded or went into the law,” he said.
The senator pointed to his Dairy Business Innovation Act, which provides small grants to various dairy producers and processors.
“I went this past spring to a farm that had received one of these grants, and they invited a few other farmers and processors who had received grants to show me what they could do with this money to grow their business. and improve their goal,” he said.
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Dairy is a major agricultural industry in Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Charlie Litchfield/File)
The Wisconsin Democrat also pointed to his state's large manufacturing sector and said his push for “Buy America” laws through pieces of legislation as helping him win over some of those voters.
Regarding whether his campaign is an example for other Democrats, especially those in swing areas, he said, “I think it's something that can help a lot of public officials.”
Baldwin added that he saw the need to travel Wisconsin so far in his first Senate campaign: “I've been in the House of Representatives, as you know, seven counties [the] the south-central part of the country. I had to read Wisconsin as I ran. “
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Baldwin proposed his strategy of 72 countries. (Reuters/File)
“So traveling to learn that was very important, to know, in the timber industry and in the northern forests. We didn't have a large timber industry in the south-central part of the state.”
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The Midwestern senator also said it was the first time he had heard from Wisconsinites that elected officials had not spent much time in certain parts of the state.
“The thing I'm going to say that I hear from voters when I show up is like, 'I don't remember the last time we had a US senator visit our community, especially not a Democrat,'” he said.
“It's like, you know, people in the wood industry are saying, 'I don't think we've ever had a member of parliament pay so much attention to us,'” he added.
