Biden's Westby Visit Highlights Push for Rural Votes in 2024

Zac Schultz:
President Joe Biden visited western Wisconsin yesterday in his first visit to the state since dropping out of the presidential race more than a month ago. “Here & Now” reporter Aditi Debnath was there.

Aditi Debnath:
Nestled in the heart of Wisconsin’s Driftless Area, the city of Westby could be considered an unlikely place for a visit from the president of the United States. But Westby, population 2300, welcomed President Joe Biden to the Vernon Electric Cooperative all the same.

Joe Biden:
Hello Wisconsin.

Aditi Debnath:
This marks Biden’s first trip to Wisconsin since dropping out of the presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the job.

Joe Biden:
Vice President Kamala Harris fought like hell for all of you and for the future worthy of your aspirations.

Aditi Debnath:
The visit is part of the president’s efforts to highlight his “Investing in America” agenda, including new investments into rural electric cooperatives like the one that hosted him.

Joe Biden:
And includes Dairyland Power Cooperative that will receive $580 million to develop and purchase solar power, wind power, energy storage right here in Wisconsin and all across the Midwest.

Aditi Debnath:
Just last week, former President Donald Trump held a town hall style event in La Crosse, just 30 miles from Westby. He used the opportunity to criticize the Biden administration and promote his own campaign.

Donald Trump:
I’m not a fan of his. He was the worst president.

Aditi Debnath:
Biden also took time to criticize the former president’s administration.

Joe Biden:
He left office with the largest annual deficit in American history, $3 trillion.

Aditi Debnath:
The dueling visits from Biden and Trump highlight Wisconsin’s status as a key battleground state. Allison Prasch is an expert on presidential campaign strategies.

Allison Prasch:
I don’t think it’s an accident that Biden is the one being deployed to a community 30 miles away from where Trump just was.

Aditi Debnath:
She says parallel campaign visits are an old strategy and sending Biden instead of Harris to a rural area was a smart choice.

Allison Prasch:
Biden can speak to that community in a way that the actual nominee cannot.

Aditi Debnath:
In 2020, nearly half of Wisconsin voters came from small towns and rural areas, with a majority supporting Trump. Westby is in Vernon County, which voted for Trump in 2020, but only by a few hundred votes. Biden’s choice to visit Westby may be an attempt to narrow this gap.

Monica Kruse:
This is becoming a tradition for me. I’ve come to see Joe Biden every time he’s been in town.

Aditi Debnath:
Voters at the event were enthusiastic about the high-profile visit, especially now that Vice President Kamala Harris is the nominee.

Robert Weeth:
We all would have voted for Joe if that was the choice, but this adds more energy, enthusiasm and a new message instead of same old, same old.

Aditi Debnath:
Do you think he made a good decision dropping out and endorsing Kamala Harris?

Monica Kruse:
I think he did. Yes, I was very concerned in the time leading up to that decision that we were really losing a lot of ground.

Aditi Debnath:
As both parties intensify their campaign efforts in Wisconsin, it’s clear that in a tight race, votes in every corner of the state matter in November. Reporting from Westby, I’m Aditi Debnath for “Here & Now.”