Wisconsin voters in crucial WOW counties react to Harris as potential nominee
WAUKESHA, Wis (CBS 58) -- Political experts across the state continue to emphasize the important role of three counties in the upcoming presidential election: Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington.
The WOW counties have traditionally been known as Republican strongholds. However, in 2016 and in 2020, more people voted for Democrats than they had ever before.
With Vice President Kamala Harris potentially taking the spot to lead the Democratic ticket, we spoke to people in these crucial communities about how she could influence the race. Deb Dassow, the chair of the Ozaukee County Democratic Party, said she attended Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign rally in Wisconsin on Tuesday.
"I think she's an excellent candidate," Dassow said. She added that in the days since the announcement that President Biden decided not to pursue a second term, more people have been telling her that Harris will be key to defeating Trump.
"She has an experience base that's very different," Dassow said. "I think having the prosecution base in Ozaukee County is very important. That's not something people should take lightly."
However, Alex Leykin, the chair of the Ozaukee County Democratic Party, says he believes the issues facing voters in these counties will be more important than the face leading the party.
“It doesn’t really matter who the Democratic candidates are," Leykin said. "They are all aligned on the same exact policies. We believe that once you take the personalities out of the issues, this should absolutely be a no-brainer for us."
Leykin says the reason for more Democratic voters in previous elections from more people moving from Milwaukee County into Ozaukee County. He said that they're approach to responding to this trend is to reactivate the members of the community who have been less active in the last couple of elections.
"I don't see this trend continuing, but hopefully we can counter it," said Leykin. "We're going to work very hard to do it."
Both party chairs emphasized the importance of voting in the WOW counties and encouraged everyone who lives in those areas to educate themselves on the policies of each candidate on the ballot ahead of the November election.