SAUK COUNTY, Wis. — As the campaign cycle ramps up in Wisconsin, which could be the state that ultimately decides the presidential election, a lot of attention has been put on the counties known for picking the winners.
There are just two so-called bellwether counties in the Badger State: Door and Sauk.
Residents in Sauk County have voted for the eventual winner of the presidential race during the last four elections and mirrored the way Wisconsin ultimately went too.
On a typical Tuesday, you’ll find Steve Drexler volunteering at the Democratic Party of Sauk County office in Baraboo.
“When we first moved here in ‘94, it just felt a lot more Republican,” Drexler explained of the area.
However, depending on the day, ask Drexler how he’s feeling about November and the answer can be a difficult one.
“Well, I’m hopeful,” Drexler said. “How’s that?”
With less than six weeks to go, confidence is tough to come by in a swing county.
“The confidence really depends on the day,” Drexler added. “I see this poll or that poll or I hear this happened or that happened.”
Just 25 minutes down the road from Baraboo, a city President Joe Biden won in 2020, you will find Reedsburg — a place where former President Donald Trump won the last election and where the county Republicans happen to have their office.
Jerry Helmer runs not just the local party but his own campaign for state Assembly in a place where the politics used to be less divided.
“Sauk County was red. It was a Republican county,” Helmer said. “I truly believe, and as I talk to people, that the people from Dane County and Madison migrated this way because of the same reason I did. The cost of living is high, the taxes are high.”
Knowing how Sauk County came to be politically, Helmer is hedging his bets about the outcome on Election Day.
“It’s a mixed bag. I’m going to say 50-50, which I really think is a good number because the entire county is 50-50 as it’s looked at, and that’s why we’re a bellwether. So, whichever way Sauk County goes, so goes the election, typically,” Helmer said.
That being the case, it’s no surprise Sauk County has made headlines in recent years.
“It’s kind of a mixed bag. I mean, on one hand, getting national attention, hearing about Wisconsin and Sauk County, whatever, all the time, in a way, is kind of, ‘Well, that’s pretty cool.’ But then, in another way, it’s like you wish you weren’t necessarily in the center of things,” Drexler said.