The battle for the Black vote in Wisconsin

On a recent Tuesday morning, dozens of community members gathered on the second floor of the Greater Spring Hill Baptist Church in Milwaukee. Posters and memos were plastered across a bright, buzzing room, where ambassadors for BLOC — Black Leaders Organizing for Communities — packed pamphlets into their bags. They were getting ready to head out into the surrounding neighborhoods to knock on doors. 

First, however, they discussed the latest debate between Wisconsin’s candidates for Senate. BLOC, an organization focused on political activism in Milwaukee’s Black community, has endorsed Democratic candidate Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, who is running to become Wisconsin's first Black senator.

"I feel a little bit better that he did so well in the debate. And everybody saw it," said Angela Lang, executive director of BLOC, addressing a room full of canvassers. "Anything could happen between now and election day, but I feel a little bit better."

Many in the room seemed to agree. "It gives us more talking points for when we go out," one woman added.

Organizers like BLOC and campaigners from both sides of the aisle are rallying to win over Black voters ahead of critical midterm elections in the battleground state of Wisconsin.

President Joe Biden took Wisconsin by just a narrow margin in 2020, winning by some 20,000 votes and flipping the state blue. This year’s Senate race is likely to come down to the wire with the incumbent, Republican Senator Ron Johnson, currently having an edge over Mandela Barnes.

The Black vote in the biggest city, Milwaukee, could be the decisive factor for the Democrats. Milwaukee's population is nearly 40% Black, yet in the whole of Wisconsin, just under 7% are Black. Still, Republicans are trying to make inroads in the community. Voter frustration and fatigue are fueling concerns that some Black voters might not go to the polls at all.

According to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, voter registration has surged so far this year. But Black voter participation has been falling steadily nationally and by nearly 11% in 2020 compared with 2016 in Milwaukee, according to Wisconsin Watch, part of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.

The reasons for that sagging participation are manifold, according to Angela Lang. Wisconsin instituted a strict voter ID law that has dampened voter enthusiasm, for example. But she points to a more significant obstacle — candidates and parties too often try to curry favor with the Black community only during election cycles, then disappear.

"That's very transactional. That doesn't work with our community. People see right through that. It is offensive and you're just trying to see people as votes and commodities and trying to extract as many votes out of this community as possible for your own gain," she said. 

Lang founded BLOC in 2017 to organize around the issues most pressing for the Black community all year round. "We always kind of start with asking the question: 'What does it look like for the Black community to thrive?'"

Doors for the Democrats 

It's a question ambassadors carried with them as they headed out into primarily Black neighborhoods. BLOC is a canvassing tour de force, reaching tens of thousands of voters ahead of important polls. It's a non-partisan organization, but in this election, it has endorsed Democrats only.

Broshea Jackson and his team crisscrossed the street to ring on doorbells and stuff flyers in door cracks. Most voters were not home in the early afternoon; others didn’t open their doors. A few were receptive to the pitch that Jackson delivered, but others pushed back, arguing that the Senate candidate, Mandela Barnes, is too soft on crime.

"You’re going to have criminals running around. It’s already bad over there. I wouldn’t vote for him. I wouldn’t dare vote for him. There’s too many Black women who have been killed this year and last year," charged one female voter.

In the leadup to the midterms, Republican groups have rolled out a barrage of ads linking Mandela Barnes to high crime rates and accusing the lieutenant governor of letting hardened criminals run free. Democrats have decried the ads as false and racist. 

But it’s not just crime that is sowing skepticism and apathy in this community. BLOC and other activist groups say Black voters have watched their neighborhoods suffer from a lack of investment in public schools, roads, community programs, and more. And that has fostered deep disappointment in elected officials. 

"They get frustrated. They slam the door in our face. Tell us they don't want to hear it. All that. Sometimes you got to be a little more persuasive. Like find different ways to get people engaged," Jackson said. "People are so tired of it because, like, change ain't helping."

It’s not just local issues, either: biting inflation has dealt a heavy blow to Americans across the country this election cycle. An October Ipsos/Reuters poll found that Americans believe inflation is the biggest problem facing the country; many voters hold the Democrats responsible for the soaring cost of gas, food, and housing.

"Food, a carton of eggs, costs $8. How can I buy 12 eggs?" Jackson said. "It's just rough out here. We got to find some kind of change." 

Republicans on the block

Just a few kilometers away, a Republican outpost in a primarily Black neighborhood is promising to provide that change. Khenzer Senat is the African American outreach director for the Wisconsin Republicans; they opened a Black community center in Milwaukee in February of 2020 to try to convince Black voters that Republicans are the answer to their frustration and fatigue. 

"What can a person that's only been voting one way, how should they feel when nothing is working out for them? I completely understand the voter apathy from that standpoint," Senat said. "Vote Republican and vote something new and give us a chance. Give us a chance of new leadership and see the policies that our lawmakers will enact that will change things for sure dramatically."

The Black GOP (Grand Old Party, i.e. the Republican party) community center runs outreach programs and sends canvassers out into the neighborhood, as well. Senat’s goal is to see the Republicans win 20% of Milwaukee’s Black vote in the midterms, compared to 16% in 2020. 

One Black voter from the neighborhood who stopped by the community center told DW he is ready to change his vote. "All they want is to get in office as long as they're getting that paycheck," he said of the Democrats governing Milwaukee.

“They don't care about the little person. I look at the neighborhood, I look at the city. It's just going downhill. You've got trash everywhere. I mean, this city is just deteriorating. It's time for change."

Democrats have pointed out that it is Republicans who have stymied efforts to invest more in public infrastructure and public schools to improve under-served neighborhoods like this one. But in an election of competing narratives and dramatic ads, it is not clear whether that message can rise to the fore.

"The messaging that we're presenting out of here and our candidates are presenting will within itself show Black individuals turning away from these failed continuous policies," said Khenzer Senat.

Crime: Perceived or reality?

One of those failed policies, according to Republicans, is crime. According to a database run by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, crime has been spiking in Milwaukee. The city has seen 192 homicides in 2022 — 27 more than last year at the same time. More than 80% of the victims are Black. Republicans argue the city must beef up law enforcement and presence to counter the trend.

 Data has shown, however, that more police is only part of the equation. Dora Drake, the Democratic state assembly representative for the 11th district, says social determinants like access to health care and housing and quality jobs are significant building blocks of public safety as well. Drake served as a social worker in the criminal justice system, helping those who served time to navigate reentry into society.

Edited by: Nicole Goebel