Here & Now

COVID on the Campaign Trail

Frederica Freyberg:

Now to COVID-19 and the impact the disease has on how candidates interact with voters. “Here & Now” Senior Political Reporter Zac Schultz has been spending a lot of time on the campaign trail. He found there are distinct differences between the way a Republican and a Democrat campaign.

Dan Kapanke:

How you doing, sir?

Man:

Good. How are you?

Dan Kapanke:

Good. My name’s Dan Kapanke.

Zac Schultz:

All around Wisconsin.

Pat Testin:

Hi there. Just want to stop by and say hi. I’m Pat Testin, your state senator.

Zac Schultz:

Republicans candidates for office are out in the field knocking doors, trying to make an impression on voters.

Bonnie Lee:

I’m Bonnie Lee. I’m running for state Assembly in this district.

Zac Schultz:

The history of campaigning in Wisconsin says this is how you win elections, something first-time candidate Bonnie Lee says was made clear to her by the Republican Party.

Bonnie Lee:

You got to knock a lot of doors. And I can attest to that.

Zac Schultz:

Democrats are taking a different approach.

Woman on phone:

Hello?

Patty Schachtner:

Hi. Is this Charlene?

Paul Piotrowski:

Hi, Tim. It’s Paul Piotrowski calling to invite you to a Zoom meeting.

Zac Schultz:

Democrats have swapped out shoe leather for technology, saying the COVID-19 pandemic means it’s not safe to campaign in person.

Paul Piotrowski:

There’s a lot more focus on making calls.

Zac Schultz:

Democrat Paul Piotrowski laments most of the events that let candidates meet voters face-to-face were cancelled.

Paul Piotrowski:

The dairy breakfast, the parades, very few if any of those are occurring.

Zac Schultz:

Republicans like Dan Kapanke says that makes doors even more important.

Dan Kapanke:

All these festivals are gone. So we have to work harder at the doors, harder to get our self in front of people with our message.

Zac Schultz:

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says it is possible to knock doors safely in a pandemic.

Robin Vos:

The vast majority of people, if you socially distance, that meets the criteria of what they want. So people are still answering their door. They still want to get to know people.

Pat Testin:

When I’m going door to door, I carry a mask on me, so that way if someone answers and they want me to mask up, I certainly will.

Zac Schultz:

Republican Pat Testin says they stopped doing doors in the spring but started them up again in June when Wisconsin’s COVID outbreak temporarily slowed down.

Pat Testin:

We’ve had some folks who answer the door and they’re just — they’re not comfortable talking to someone and I completely respect that.

Dan Kapanke:

I’ve had several people that were upset that I was there without a mask, but I was outside and I was keeping — trying to keep my distance.

Zac Schultz:

Democrats say going door to door is more likely to alienate voters.

Paul Piotrowski:

They do not want to see candidates or volunteers coming to their door.

Robyn Vining:

We are protecting people and not spending time out knocking doors.

Zac Schultz:

Democratic Robyn Vining says her work at the doors in 2008 led to her upset win in this suburban Milwaukee seat. But she says her methods had to change.

Robyn Vining:

Our method has to honor our message. And so I can’t look at you and say human life matters and then risk it.

Zac Schultz:

So what do Democrats think about their Republican opponents knocking doors in their districts?

Robyn Vining:

That’s their choice.

Patty Schachtner:

There you go.

Zac Schultz:

But where does that leave Democrats when it comes to reaching voters?

Patty Schachtner:

Hi, Tim. This is Senator Patty Schachtner calling.

Zac Schultz:

Democrat Patty Schachtner says in her rural district that leaves only one option.

Patty Schachtner:

Calls and calls and it’s you know, hundreds and hundreds of calls.

Zac Schultz:

Republican Robin Vos thinks Democrats are missing out.

Robin Vos:

Democrats can choose to campaign how they want to. I think being a telemarketer, which is what an awful lot of candidates are doing where they’re just trying to call people on the phone, that’s just a different interaction than looking somebody in the eye and asking them a question.

Zac Schultz:

The ultimate goal of doors or any outreach is to persuade and turn out voters.

Ben Wikler:

Most doors, people aren’t home or don’t answer. Most phone calls don’t get picked up.

Zac Schultz:

Ben Wikler is chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. They’re testing if there’s a different and safer way.

Ben Wikler:

The most important thing in an election is authentic conversations. Conversations can happen at doors. They can happen on the phone.

Peter Klitzke:

Hello. My name is Peter Klitzke.

Zac Schultz:

That’s where Peter and Carol Klitzke come in.

Peter Klitzke:

Thanks for taking my call.

Zac Schultz:

Peter is a field organizer for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin in the La Crosse area.

Peter Klitzke:

Welcome to my life for hours on end.

Zac Schultz:

His wife Carol is a volunteer team leader.

Carol Klitzke:

I really think Pete and I have always felt like we could make a difference.

Peter Klitzke:

That’s true.

Carol Klitzke:

Without being even really idealistic about it.

Hello. Is this Francis?

Zac Schultz:

They’ve made thousands of calls to voters in western Wisconsin over the past few months.

Carol Klitzke:

Not a Democrat.

Zac Schultz:

Looking to change a few minds and add votes to the Democratic ticket.

Carol Klitzke:

What would it take for Joe Biden to sway you over to vote for him?

Zac Schultz:

Ben Wikler says it’s not the amount of phone calls that matter, but the quality.

Ben Wikler:

What we look at most of all is how long are people talking, what do they report about what happens on those calls, is this a kind of perfunctory reminder or is this actually an in-depth engagement that will stick with someone?

Zac Schultz:

In 2016 Peter worked as a poll worker, registering voters on Election Day. He saw a long line of white men who hadn’t voted since before President Obama.

Peter Klitzke:

They acted angry and they had a chip on their shoulder. I was pretty sure they were voting for Trump.

Zac Schultz:

Donald Trump won western Wisconsin on his way to a narrow state-wide victory. Peter and Carol have been working to reverse that trend ever since.

Carol Klitzke:

We have to do something different to make it more fun.

Zac Schultz:

Initially, Peter and Carol thought they could change minds one door at a time.

Carol Klitzke:

That’s the beauty of canvassing, is when we canvass, especially since we live here, then we are the face. We are the face of Democrats.

Zac Schultz:

Back in March, they hosted an event called “Phones on Tap,” where volunteers could drink local microbrews and make calls to recruit more volunteers to then knock doors.

Carol Klitzke:

Ed, would you like to try some Java Lava?

Zac Schultz:

The COVID-19 pandemic shut them down less than a week later. Since then, it’s been Zoom meetings and phone calls. Carol says some calls are rough, but sometimes she makes a connection.

Carol Klitzke:

One of those aha moments where you’re like, yes, this is why I’m doing this.

Zac Schultz:

Everything that’s playing out at the state level mirrors what’s happening with the presidential campaigns.

Mike Pence:

It is great to be back in the Badger State.

Zac Schultz:

While Mike Pence visited Wisconsin Tuesday.

Mike Pence:

Three weeks from today on the road to victory goes right through Wisconsin.

Zac Schultz:

The Biden campaign has kept their rallies virtual.

LaTonya Johnson:

Thank you so much for joining us tonight.

Zac Schultz:

With even the in-state surrogates appearing via Zoom.

LaTonya Johnson:

I’m Wisconsin State Senator LaTonya Johnson and I represent the 6th Senate District on Milwaukee’s north and northwest side.

Zac Schultz:

Milwaukee’s north side is one area where the lack of door knocking may hurt the most.

Gwen Moore:

You actually have to reach out and tell people what’s in it for them for voting.

Zac Schultz:

Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Moore represents Milwaukee. She’s well aware that turnout in Milwaukee’s African-American communities crashed in 2016.

Gwen Moore:

I really think that 2016 really was a lesson in having Democrats turn away from their old model of campaigning.

Zac Schultz:

She says Democrats can’t just take African-American votes for granted.

Gwen Moore:

When people have said you take certain votes for granted, they really mean it. I mean, you actually have to ask people to vote.

Zac Schultz:

With Democrats not doing doors, who is left to speak to these voters?

Donna Childs:

We want to build power through our vote. So again I’ll say more next week. But we need everyone, everyone, everyone to vote. Everyone, everyone to vote.

Zac Schultz:

The Reverend Dr. Donna Childs was just recently installed as senior pastor at Tabernacle Community Baptist Church in the heart of Milwaukee’s African-American neighborhoods.

Donna Childs:

We’ve been here as a church for 98 years, so we truly know that we are a focal point of the community.

Zac Schultz:

Reverend Childs says their church sent out members to knock doors.

Donna Childs:

For our neighborhood, they definitely are aware. As far as excitement, that varies. Many people are thinking this is critical, I must do it. Then you have some that are thinking what will it matter?

Zac Schultz:

It’s not a new problem. The area surrounding Tabernacle Community Baptist votes Democratic 99% of the time. But turnout peaked in 2012, the last time President Obama was on the ticket. The drop-off in Democratic turnout in 2014 was about 30% statewide. It was the same in the heavily African-American 6th Senate District and even ward 149, home of Tabernacle Baptist. In 2016 statewide numbers for Dems bounced back slightly, but ward 149’s turnout didn’t improve. And while 2018 saw Democrats win statewide, turnout was even lower for African-Americans in Milwaukee.

Gwen Moore:

There is absolutely no mistake that we win or lose by those margins.

Zac Schultz:

Reverend Childs says this highlights the need for human contact.

Donna Childs:

People love individual touch. And I think that’s the same with this canvassing. When people see you took time out, you sacrifice your time to walk and come to my door, what a personal touch that makes upon them and an impression that they care.

Zac Schultz:

Which brings us to the crux of the problem for Democrats. During a pandemic, how do voters know the reason you didn’t come to their door wasn’t because you don’t care, but because you care so much?

Donna Childs:

I think they leave a lot of people untouched and that could be crucial for this election.

Zac Schultz:

Reporting from Wisconsin, I’m Zac Schultz for “Here & Now.”

Frederica Freyberg:

The state reports it’s providing extra counting machine to its largest cities to handle the crush of absentee ballots being cast this election season in the midst of the pandemic.