Can young people get back to Wisconsin at the very right handle of Scott Walker? | American News

Apart from the Chazen Art Museum, on the campus of the University of Wisconsin – Madison, a shark, a banana and Nada Elmikashfi are trying to have students come to the polls on the first day of the poll.

Madison, the liberal capital and capital of the state of Wisconsin, is poised to close a bitter race to decide the political future of this once-progressive and deeply conservative state, at least in terms of politics.

Like many young voters on campus, Elmikashfi is determined to reverse the trend of the state to the decade. Under a blueberry blue sky, Elmikashfi and two friends in fancy costumes distribute leaflets explaining why this mid-term vote is so important. And why is it so vital to her? "I am a black Muslim and an immigrant," she says. "I'm trying to recover my voice."

Wisconsin is in many ways emblematic of the deep divide between American politics. Since 2010, his anti-union governor, Scott Walker, has embarked on a small-government policy aimed at helping big business to defeat Wisconsin's progressive past and turn it into a laboratory of conservative governance. His policy has become a testbed for the Koch brothers and other right-wing billionaires – a model for their broader vision of America sought by others to copy into right-wing think tanks of the country.

Walker – according to political lawyer Grover Norquist, who hates taxes – has more influence than Trump in defeating the progressive program. If its policy is "adopted in a dozen other states, the modern democratic party will cease to be a competitive power in American politics. It's a big problem, "he wrote last year.

The governor seems to be born hard right. In elementary school, Walker created a club "Jesus USA" and, at the university, he told another student: "God told me that I am chosen to reduce taxes and stop killing babies. "His popularity is low these days and he's trying to win over people with tweets about his eating habits, but there's no denying its effectiveness.

Walker's fans won a major victory in 2016 when Donald Trump won the state. This is the first time that Wisconsin has elected a Republican President since Ronald Reagan in 1984. Walker works tirelessly to deprive voters and the Wisconsin Gerrymander of their rights win. If he was elected for a third term, he could secure party dominance for a generation.

Hillary Clinton, notoriously, did not bother campaigning in Wisconsin in 2016. This time, the fight to end Walker's vision of the future has attracted top talent. Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and rising stars such as Kamala Harris have all lent their support to Walker's opponent, Tony Evers, superintendent of state education.

A nerdy 66-year-old Evers is the anti-Walker. He spent his life in education and often wears a black t-shirt that says, "I [heart symbol] My public school. His policies are to spend more on schools and roads, canceling Walker's legacy of cuts, cuts, cuts.

But this legacy could potentially be Walker's loss. For millennial students, who voted for the first time for the first time, their first foretaste of politics took place during the wave of strikes and demonstrations that followed the promulgation of the first-ever campaign. Act 10 by Walker – a law depriving public school teachers of their right to collective bargaining much more than their health insurance and pensions.

The Millennials were in force at the Madison Concourse's Capitol Ballroom Hall last weekend at a rally for Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin, currently at ease to be re-elected against closely linked Wisconsin Senator Leah Vukmir to the American Legislative Council of Exchange (Alec).

"I grew up with Scott Walker and saw how things got worse," said Sigal Felber, a student at the University of Wisconsin. "School funding, potholes, concealed transport panels. It's not for the people, it's for the Republicans. Felber is 20 years old and has voted in every election for which she is eligible to vote. This is not typical of young voters, who often tend to miss the ballot box, but she thinks it's changing.

His friend and comrade Laura Livermore, 19, accepted. She voted in previous primaries and even for Supreme Court justices. "I think people are tired of it. We want change, "she said.

The elimination of unions and cuts in Walker's spending fundamentally changed Wisconsin. This is a historic change that is documented in Dan Kaufman's new book The Fall of Wisconsin: The Conservative Conquest of a Progressive Stronghold and the Future of American Politics.

Under Walker, Wisconsin has experienced one of the largest retreats of its middle class among all states. Its poverty rate is at its highest level in 30 years and its roads are the second worst in the union – locals speak of "Scottholes".

Kaufman says that Mr. Walker's success in beating the unions actually opened the door for Trump and put it in his pocket, the only group powerful enough to absorb the huge amounts of money currently paid out races across the country. "The book is generating a lot of interest in the Midwest," Kaufman said. "A lot has happened here." In the regions that have entrusted Trump with the presidency.

Polls suggest that Walker is in the fight of his life. Evers currently has a slight lead, according to Real Clear Politics, but it's too tight to call, and dismissing a militant as skillful as Walker would be a mistake.

The millennial generation – which now equates to the baby boomer group as an electoral bloc – votes in smaller numbers – only 46% of them voted in 2016, compared with 69% of baby boomers. Early voter turnout – at least in Madison – seems to be before 2016. But the oldest voters in Wisconsin seem just as excited as the Millennials.

Republican Bryan Steil arrives in Oak Creek, near Milwaukee, to be replaced by House of Representatives President Paul Ryan in a fierce race with Ironwood and rising star Randy Bryce. The candidate's attitude towards Israel was the top priority for Vernon Engstrom, a 51-year-old auto worker who supports Steil. He does not like Trump's style but supports his policies. "I am a Christian and he supports Christians. Trump seems to do what he said he would do, "he said,

Another supporter who only gives her name, Carol, and her age, 68, has whistled with anger at the "mess," she said, that Barack Obama was gone. "We have had eight years of worst policies. The economy was so bad. It was such a mess, "she said before asking the candidates a question about their attitude towards subsequent abortions.

Tommy Thompson, a former Republican governor of Wisconsin, said the state had always been politically divided.

What he says has changed, is the nastiness of the debate. Thompson, the oldest governor in the state's history, is currently appearing in advertisements for Walker. Tellingly, Walker's advertisements often use surrogates – he knows clearly how many people feel about him. Locals say it's the first time Thompson advertises for Walker, but he says "he can not remember anymore."

"He should have used me before, I'm very popular," he said. This is certainly one of the mildest announcements bombing Wisconsin, none of the accusations of "plagiarism" or attacks from family members appearing in other ads.

What disappoints Thompson about the current breed, is how much the state is angry. "I think people are tired of it. Shoving, shouting – both sides. This is not America. After the race, he hopes people will come together. "It's time we put our anger aside," he says. It's a good idea.