MILWAUKEE (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will host dueling rallies within seven miles of one another on Friday night in the Milwaukee area as part of a final push for votes in swing-state Wisconsin's largest county. Milwaukee is home to the most Democratic votes in Wisconsin , but its conservative suburbs are where most Republicans live and are a critical area for Trump as he tries to reclaim the state he narrowly won in 2016 and lost in 2020. One reason for his defeat was a drop in support in those Milwaukee suburbs and an increase in Democratic votes in the city.
“Both candidates recognize that the road to the White House runs directly through Milwaukee County,” said Hilario Deleon, chair of the county's Republican Party. The dueling rallies — Trump is in downtown Milwaukee and Harris is in a suburb — may be the candidates' last appearances in battleground Wisconsin before Election Day . Both sides say the race is once again razor tight for the state's 10 electoral votes.
Four of the past six presidential elections in Wisconsin have been decided by less than a point, or fewer than 23,000 votes. It was absentee votes from Milwaukee , which typically are reported early in the morning after Election Day, that tipped Wisconsin for President Joe Biden in 2020. Democrats know they must turn out voters in Milwaukee, also home to the state's largest Black population, to counter Trump's support in the suburbs and rural areas.
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