MADISON, Wis. – Former Texan Rep. Beto O’Rourke made his second trip to Wisconsin this year, and he said he plans to make frequent stops during his campaign.

“This state is fundamental to any prospect we have of electing a Democrat to the presidency in 2020 and being ready to start on day one in 2021,” O’Rourke told reporters Sunday.

He held a meet and greet Sunday morning at Cargo Coffee in Madison. The coffeehouse was at full capacity and hundreds more people gathered outside the shop on East Washington Avenue.

Marquette Law School Poll Director Charles Franklin said he would be surprised if Wisconsin doesn’t have a “cavalcade” of Democratic candidates campaigning there.

“The fact that Hillary Clinton didn’t campaign in this state gives every Democrat a reason to make sure that they’re coming here and paying attention,” Franklin said.

President Donald Trump won Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan in 2016, three states that former President Barack Obama won twice.

“All three states moved in a Democratic direction in 2018, but Wisconsin (had) a bit less movement than you saw in the other two states. That makes us the pivotal state in the electoral college right now,” Franklin said.

O’Rourke met with students on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus in February and stopped in Milwaukee in February. He came to the same two cities on Sunday.


He took questions from the audience on issues like immigration, education, climate change and loss of dairy farms.

The city of Milwaukee will host the Democratic National Convention in 2020, which O’Rourke said he was “glad” about, but he added, “That won’t be enough. I mean, we’ve got to show up.”

“I want to make sure that we start this campaign here. Here we are at the beginning of day four, and we’re in Madison, so this state is very, very important to me,” O’Rourke said.

Franklin said it’s also likely that Trump and Vice President Mike Pence will campaign in Wisconsin “frequently” ahead of the 2020 election.

“They have to make sure that the states they pulled over to them stay with them,” Franklin said.

The Republican National Committee released a statement about O’Rourke’s stops in Wisconsin saying, “It’s been a rough few days for 2020 candidate Beto O’Rourke.”

“From his campaign turning into an apology tour less than 48 hours after announcing to flip-flopping on the issues and his past GOP ties, O’Rourke is going to have a tough time living up to his party’s litmus tests and convincing the progressive base that he should be their nominee,” said RNC spokesperson Christiana Purves.

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