Once reliably Republican, Ozaukee County trending toward toss-up status

 

MEQUON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- For Wisconsin Republicans to once again win statewide elections with any kind of consistency, they'll need to stop a trend in the Milwaukee suburbs.

Ozaukee County's shift away from being reliably conservative is especially pronounced. Less than a decade ago, voters in the north suburban county gave Republican former Gov. Scott Walker's re-election effort a significant boost.

Walker received 70% of Ozaukee County's vote in 2014. He won a second term by defeating Democratic challenger Mary Burke 52% to 47%. 

In Tuesday's election to determine control of the state Supreme Court, conservative candidate Daniel Kelly won the county with only 52% of the votes. The progressive candidate, Janet Protasiewicz, won statewide by 11 percentage points and more than 200,000 votes.

In a series of interviews Thursday in downtown Mequon, voters universally listed abortion as a top issue in determining how they voted.

"In my household, my wife and I had many candid discussions about it," Keith Keller, who voted for Kelly, said. "And we're both Catholic."

For some, it was the single biggest issue in the campaign. 

"It was very, very meaningful. Some of us cried," said one woman of the outcome. "It made us feel a lot of pride for Wisconsin."

The results continued a pattern of Ozaukee County becoming more and more competitive in one of the nation's most closely contested states:

• 2014, Governor: Walker (R) - 70%, Burke (D) - 29%
• 2016, President: Trump (R) - 56%, Clinton (D) - 37%
• 2018, Governor: Walker (R) - 63%, Evers (D) - 36%
• 2020, President: Trump (R) - 55%, Biden (D) - 43%
• 2022, Governor: Michels (R) - 52%, Evers (D) - 44%
• 2023, Supreme Court: Kelly - 52%, Protasiewicz - 48%

"Is there a possible shift in political demographics in some of these suburbs?" voter Daniel Folz said.

What's unclear is how much of that demographic shift is driven by population changes versus the amount of voters turning away from conservative candidates, particularly since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Keller said he believes the shift is largely due to an influx of new voters. 

"I can go a lot of places where I used to know everybody," Keller said, "And today, I don't know anybody."

Arlene Klavins, who backed Protasiewicz, said she welcomed the idea of new residents making the county more competitive. She said she believed the changes were also due to swing voters pushing back against the state's abortion ban and gerrymandered legislative maps.

"I think there are more open-minded people in Mequon than there used to be," she said. "I shouldn't say open-minded, just less stuck with the party."