WASHINGTON — Early voting has begun in Wisconsin ahead of Tuesday’s presidential primary.
But the outcome will not matter much, because President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have already amassed enough delegates from other states to be their parties’ presumptive nominees.
“Certainly, there's no suspense in Wisconsin,” said Charles Franklin, a professor of law and public policy at Marquette Law School.
The results of Wisconsin’s primary aren’t always so predictable.
“Sometimes that's been to our advantage,” Franklin said. “In 2016, when both primaries were still being hard fought, Wisconsin was pretty important, even though we were still in April and after most places had voted.”
That year, Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, beat Trump in the state’s Republican presidential primary. Even though there’s little excitement in this year’s primary, it’s still a chance for voters to make their voices heard. Some Democrats are choosing to vote “uncommitted” to protest Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. At least 15% of voters would have to cast ballots that way for uncommitted delegates to be selected for the Democratic National Convention in August.
November is where things will get interesting. Wisconsin is one of a handful of battleground states that will determine who becomes president. In 2016, Wisconsin went for Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Four years later, voters chose Biden over Trump.
Marquette Law School’s most recent poll shows Trump and Biden in a dead heat, each receiving 49% among registered voters in Wisconsin.
“There are all of the issues of inflation and Israel, and all of those things that will shape how voters view President Biden certainly as the incumbent, and those will change between now and November,” said Kathleen Dolan, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “We've got all of former President Trump's legal considerations, and his trials, and what happens when, and that could color people's impressions between now and then.”
Besides the presidential candidates, voters will also be able to weigh in on constitutional amendments and local races. The last day to vote in-person early is Sunday, ahead of primary day on Tuesday.