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A quick guide to swing state Wisconsin

An image of a blue and red-tinted Wisconsin postage stamp over a purple background with white stars and blue and red stripes. The stamp features a farm with cows in a pasture with an inscription that reads 'Greetings from Wisconsin'
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Wisconsin, famous for cheese, Harley Davidson motorcycles and the Green Bay Packers American football team is one of seven states that will decide the 2024 US presidential election.

Voting in swing states is hard to predict and can lean Republican or Democrat - that鈥檚 why you鈥檙e hearing so much about them as campaigning draws to a close.

Here鈥檚 all you need to know.

Population

5.9 million (same as Denmark)

Electoral college votes

10 of 538

In a nutshell

It鈥檚 one of the Big Three in the Midwest, along with Michigan and Pennsylvania, which gave Joe Biden victory in 2020.

2020 margin

Biden by 21,000 votes.

What's the deal now?

Wisconsin鈥檚 mix of cities, small towns and large rural areas has made it one of the most-contested states in 2024.

Republicans held their national convention in Milwaukee, which saw a triumphant Trump receive a hero鈥檚 welcome after surviving being shot at just days before. Kamala Harris held her first rally there in July. Both have returned to the state several times since.

What are voters saying?

The Harris campaign is hoping to draw in voters like Sarah Weber, a 24-year-old engineer based in Madison.

鈥淲omen鈥檚 rights is at the top of my list,鈥 she says.

When Harris appears in the state she tends to accuse Trump of being a threat to democracy and focus on his false election claims. But at Trump rallies, immigration is the big issue and supporters talk about how their candidate - and by extension, his backers - have been treated unfairly. Fans seem unfazed by Trump鈥檚 legal difficulties, with some suggesting criminal prosecutions will backfire.

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely going to increase his popularity,鈥 says Nancy Ridge who attended a rally in Milwaukee wearing a jacket with Trump鈥檚 mugshot on the back.

鈥淓specially among lower-class people who have been convicted of crimes or even falsely accused. They understand the justice system and how corrupt it can be.鈥

What's the expert view

Maximising turnout in Dane county - which includes the capital Madison, and Milwaukee County - could be key to a Harris victory, says Michael Wagner, director of the Center for Communication and Civic Renewal at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Harris also needs to ensure she doesn鈥檛 lose votes in rural parts of the state, he adds.

He says Trump needs to do better in the suburban counties where support for Republicans has been waning. The key places to look at are the counties around Milwaukee known as the 鈥淲ow鈥 counties - Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington, he explains.

Reporting by Mike Wendling