Western Wisconsin counties are the ones to watch on Election Day

BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. (WEAU) – As Election Day approaches, voters and analysts alike are looking for clues about what will happen on November 5th. There are a few counties in western Wisconsin that could shed light on how the election will turn out.

Western Wisconsin doesn’t have a frontrunner, a county that knows how to pick winners. However, there are six counties that were close together and could provide a little more context for Election Day.

Before election day, many thoughts are fixated on red or blue. However, in western Wisconsin, purple is the more noticeable color.

“It’s, as I’ve always said, the purplest area of ​​a purple state,” WEAU political analyst John Frank said.

There are six counties in particular that Frank said will be significant.

“We want to keep an eye on Buffalo, Pepin, Dunn, Trempealeau and Jackson counties,” Frank said. “Then up at the northern end of our observation area, Sawyer County.”

That’s because these districts voted for a Democratic president in 2008 and 2012. Then in 2016 and 2020 they turned red.

“The interesting thing about the 2020 election was that even though Trump received a smaller percentage of the total vote in the state of Wisconsin in 14 of our 15 counties, he received a larger vote in West Central Wisconsin in 2020 than he did in 2016,” Frank said. “The only exception is Sawyer County.”

On election night, monitoring these counties could provide insight into the strength of Trump’s turnout in Wisconsin.

“If we see on election night that he doesn’t do that well in terms of total votes in those six counties, then that doesn’t look good for him nationally,” Frank said.

What caused the voter turnover in the last 16 years?

“I think there is an electorate here in rural Wisconsin, particularly in west-central Wisconsin, that is frustrated with the tendencies of the national government and is looking for an instrument for change,” Franks said.

In less than two weeks, western Wisconsin voters will show us who they believe is the candidate of change.

WEAU will have comprehensive coverage on election night, including analysis with Frank, once the results are in. Be sure to stay with us as coverage begins November 5 at 10 p.m.

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