Wisconsin Right Now

In many battleground states, former President Donald Trump is in better position this election cycle compared to the same time in the 2020 election cycle when he lost to Joe Biden. In six of the seven consensus states, Trump’s polling average is better than the same point four years ago. Ninety-three electoral college votes ride on Pennsylvania (19), North Carolina (16), Georgia (16), Michigan (15), Arizona (11), Wisconsin (10) and Nevada (six). Biden won six of those states in 2020 – North Carolina was the exception – and the electoral college 306-232. Polling information from Project 538 is included in the following state by state summaries. Michigan Michigan is a perfect example of this trend. At this point in 2020, Biden led Trump by nearly 8%. This year, Vice President Kamala Harris leads Trump by only 1.8%, which is well within the margin of error. Harris polls better than Biden when he was in the race in June and July. Michigan has the trifecta of Democrats for go...

Many children in Wisconsin schools have not returned to class since the COVID outbreak. A new report from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty looks at the spike in chronic absenteeism, particularly since the start of the 2020 school year. “The first step in the education of a student is them being present to absorb the material. But when a student is regularly not in school, this process breaks down,” Will Flanders wrote in the report. “Getting kids into school on a daily basis is a responsibility shared by school districts and parents. While there is no one change that can magically reverse the downward trend in attendance, it is vital that this issue be at the forefront for policymakers concerned about the education of the next generation.” The report shows truancy rates in Wisconsin public schools have more than doubled since 2012. “About 10% of students were chronically absent in 2012 compared to more than 20% today,” the report notes. The report also shows some...