alternatehistory.com
The Wisconsin Primary
April 5th, 1988
After Gary Hart's easy victory in Colorado, Wisconsin was swamped with a downpour of political attention in the form of ads, speeches, appearances and fliers from both Hart and Jesse Jackson. By the dawn of the primary, a balmy 58 degree spring day, a sense of political weariness rose with the sun over the state.
The two candidates remained attached to their respective bases. Jackson spent much of his time in Milwaukee and Madison, counting on the urban, liberal population to propel him to a miracle victory. Meanwhile, Hart made appearances in various regions of the state, showing his support for new technology and innovation.
Leading Democratic Senate candidate Herb Kohl made appearances with Hart throughout his time in Wisconsin, a symbiotic relationship which gave a boost to both campaigns. For Kohl, he was given much appreciated national attention, and for Hart, Kohl was able to provide a sense of local credibility to his country wide campaign.
Jackson's campaign held the belief that if they could raise turnout in Milwaukee and Madison significantly, they could overcome the harsh returns for Hart in the rest of the state. It was a Hail Mary if there ever was one, and the Reverend Jackson could do nothing but pray as the returns came in.
To his credit, Jackson kept it close most of the night, but in a state that's demographics included a 92% white population, he could not overcome the pure improbability of victory in Wisconsin. Hart would go on to win with a 55% to 45% margin, with exceptional margins in most of the state. Most encouraging for Hart was that he was able to keep Madison much closer than Milwaukee; this pointed to a stronger connection to the younger, more liberal generation that he would certainly need in the future.
With Jackson's last stand collapsing before him, many were beginning to tout Hart as the presumptive nominee. The fervor only grew with the news that Jackson would be holding a press conference the following morning.
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On the Republican side, it was beginning to seem that Wisconsin was going to come down to a razor's edge between the three candidates.
The Quayle campaign's attack ad on both Bush and Dole had backfired tremendously in Colorado, and it was promptly pulled from the air in Wisconsin and replaced with the traditional ads which touted Quayle as a conservative with values. In the eyes of many, however, the damage was already done.
The Bush campaign, with the masterful Lee Atwater at the helm, countered with an ad which called to attention Quayle's previous comments and questioned his moral conservative nature. "Don't vote for a bully. Stick with experience. Vote Bush" the ad surmised.
Bush himself was supremely confident after his triumph in Colorado. Wisconsin had its' conservative areas, such as Ozaukee county, but was generally moderate, which played to his strengths.
Bob Dole, meanwhile, was seen as a dark horse in the state. He had his roots in the Midwest, and had been producing results in recent primaries that suggested that a large portion of the Republican electorate fed up with both Bush and Quayle were quickly turning to Dole as an alternative to the two extremes.
Quayle spent all of his time in the state in the rural towns in the center of the state, making speeches in town halls and posing for photo opportunities with the farmers. Bush and Dole stayed primarily among the middle class Republicans in areas like Racine County, seen as a bellwether county in both primary and general elections.
As the results were totaled, it became clear that the night would be a major blow to the Quayle campaign. Bush would end up taking first in the state, followed closely by Dole, with Quayle tailing in third.
It was a breakthrough victory for the Bush campaign, which only became better with the added news that he had won the Delaware caucuses on the same evening. For Dole, his second place finishes in both states were enough to stave off the end of the campaign, but a victory was quickly becoming necessary to stay in the race.
The Quayle campaign was becoming more and more worried. The major concern was that the novelty of his campaign was wearing thin, and the Republican electorate was turning to the conventional choice as a cop-out.
The path would only become harder for Quayle, with the next Republican primaries coming in New York, Vermont and Pennsylvania.
And for George Bush, victory was coming into sight.
After Gary Hart's easy victory in Colorado, Wisconsin was swamped with a downpour of political attention in the form of ads, speeches, appearances and fliers from both Hart and Jesse Jackson. By the dawn of the primary, a balmy 58 degree spring day, a sense of political weariness rose with the sun over the state.
The two candidates remained attached to their respective bases. Jackson spent much of his time in Milwaukee and Madison, counting on the urban, liberal population to propel him to a miracle victory. Meanwhile, Hart made appearances in various regions of the state, showing his support for new technology and innovation.
Leading Democratic Senate candidate Herb Kohl made appearances with Hart throughout his time in Wisconsin, a symbiotic relationship which gave a boost to both campaigns. For Kohl, he was given much appreciated national attention, and for Hart, Kohl was able to provide a sense of local credibility to his country wide campaign.
Jackson's campaign held the belief that if they could raise turnout in Milwaukee and Madison significantly, they could overcome the harsh returns for Hart in the rest of the state. It was a Hail Mary if there ever was one, and the Reverend Jackson could do nothing but pray as the returns came in.
To his credit, Jackson kept it close most of the night, but in a state that's demographics included a 92% white population, he could not overcome the pure improbability of victory in Wisconsin. Hart would go on to win with a 55% to 45% margin, with exceptional margins in most of the state. Most encouraging for Hart was that he was able to keep Madison much closer than Milwaukee; this pointed to a stronger connection to the younger, more liberal generation that he would certainly need in the future.
With Jackson's last stand collapsing before him, many were beginning to tout Hart as the presumptive nominee. The fervor only grew with the news that Jackson would be holding a press conference the following morning.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the Republican side, it was beginning to seem that Wisconsin was going to come down to a razor's edge between the three candidates.
The Quayle campaign's attack ad on both Bush and Dole had backfired tremendously in Colorado, and it was promptly pulled from the air in Wisconsin and replaced with the traditional ads which touted Quayle as a conservative with values. In the eyes of many, however, the damage was already done.
The Bush campaign, with the masterful Lee Atwater at the helm, countered with an ad which called to attention Quayle's previous comments and questioned his moral conservative nature. "Don't vote for a bully. Stick with experience. Vote Bush" the ad surmised.
Bush himself was supremely confident after his triumph in Colorado. Wisconsin had its' conservative areas, such as Ozaukee county, but was generally moderate, which played to his strengths.
Bob Dole, meanwhile, was seen as a dark horse in the state. He had his roots in the Midwest, and had been producing results in recent primaries that suggested that a large portion of the Republican electorate fed up with both Bush and Quayle were quickly turning to Dole as an alternative to the two extremes.
Quayle spent all of his time in the state in the rural towns in the center of the state, making speeches in town halls and posing for photo opportunities with the farmers. Bush and Dole stayed primarily among the middle class Republicans in areas like Racine County, seen as a bellwether county in both primary and general elections.
As the results were totaled, it became clear that the night would be a major blow to the Quayle campaign. Bush would end up taking first in the state, followed closely by Dole, with Quayle tailing in third.
It was a breakthrough victory for the Bush campaign, which only became better with the added news that he had won the Delaware caucuses on the same evening. For Dole, his second place finishes in both states were enough to stave off the end of the campaign, but a victory was quickly becoming necessary to stay in the race.
The Quayle campaign was becoming more and more worried. The major concern was that the novelty of his campaign was wearing thin, and the Republican electorate was turning to the conventional choice as a cop-out.
The path would only become harder for Quayle, with the next Republican primaries coming in New York, Vermont and Pennsylvania.
And for George Bush, victory was coming into sight.
- Meyer London
- Word Count: 760