BARABOO — Anticipation was high on the Sauk County Courthouse Square before last month’s Baraboo homecoming parade. Viewers lined the street in folding chairs, children dashed after balls, and popcorn and popsicle sticks littered the ground.
Sauk County has voted for the winner in the last five presidential elections, but by shrinking margins. In Baraboo, the bellwether county's largest municipality, two neighbors have decorated their yards with signs supporting candidates for opposite parties.
People are also reading…
Don Dempsey leaves the Sauk County GOP headquarters in Reedsburg with a new Trump yard sign. The county GOP has many signs to choose from, including a bright pink "Women for Trump" sign.
Donald Trump supporter Dan Forcier at Sauk County GOP headquarters in Reedsburg. Behind him is a painting commemorating the July 13 assassination attempt against the former president.
Charlotte Huelsemann, 71, of Denzer, has voted for both Democrats and Republicans over the years but has never voted for Donald Trump. Huelsemann, seen here at the headquarters of the Sauk County Democratic Party, intends to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Misgivings about the former president’s personality were enough to take Brad Horner from Trump supporter to local Democratic volunteer.
A Tammy Baldwin sign and a hand-painted Kamala Harris sign share the roadside of Highway 12 near Prairie du Sac. A shortage of Harris signs has prompted many of her supporters to make their own.
Susan Knower has lived in the Baraboo Hills since the 1980s and is head of the Sauk County Democratic Party. Since Vice President Kamala Harris entered the presidential race in July, Knower has seen renewed energy and swarms of county residents volunteering in an effort to elect Harris.
In downtown Baraboo, a mural recognizes the contributions of area residents, past and present. That image of unity is being tested this election year.
Photos; Sauk County voters
In downtown Baraboo, a mural recognizes the contributions of area residents, past and present. That image of unity is being tested this election year.
Don Dempsey leaves the Sauk County GOP headquarters in Reedsburg with a new Trump yard sign. The county GOP has many signs to choose from, including a bright pink "Women for Trump" sign.
Store manager at "A Sense of Adventure" in Baraboo, Kelly Gebhard has been a lifelong Sauk County resident and Democratic voter. “A president is supposed to work for his people and for his country, not for himself, and his friends, and his bank accounts," she said.
The Sauk County Republican Party is headquartered in a former Mexican Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
A Tammy Baldwin sign and a hand-painted Kamala Harris sign share the roadside of Highway 12 near Prairie du Sac. A shortage of Harris signs has prompted many of her supporters to make their own.
The Sauk County GOP is headquartered in Reedsburg, Wis., in what was once a Mexican restaurant.
Visitors to downtown Baraboo, Wis. converse near the town square Thursday. Baraboo is the largest community in Sauk County.
Donald Trump supporter Dan Forcier at Sauk County GOP headquarters in Reedsburg. Behind him is a painting commemorating the July 13 assassination attempt against the former president.
Books and literature fill a table at the headquarters of the Sauk County Democratic headquarters in Baraboo.
Charlotte Huelsemann, 71, of Denzer, has voted for both Democrats and Republicans over the years but has never voted for Donald Trump. Huelsemann, seen here at the headquarters of the Sauk County Democratic Party, intends to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.
For the first time, the Democratic Party of Sauk County has purchased, through a political action committee, a billboard. This one is just south of downtown Baraboo.
Misgivings about the former president’s personality were enough to take Brad Horner from Trump supporter to local Democratic volunteer.
Republican signs fill the side of a barn southeast of Baraboo. Sauk County has voted in line with the country in every presidential election since 2008 — voting twice for Barack Obama, for Trump in 2016 and for Biden in 2020.
Susan Knower has lived in the Baraboo Hills since the 1980s and is head of the Sauk County Democratic Party. Since Vice President Kamala Harris entered the presidential race in July, Knower has seen renewed energy and swarms of county residents volunteering in an effort to elect Harris.
