ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
We are spending all week reporting from swing state Wisconsin, meeting some of the voters who could decide which way the state goes and perhaps who wins the White House. Yesterday and today we've been traveling this 15-mile road - it's called North Avenue - that goes from the heart of Milwaukee to the outlying suburbs. We did the first half of the journey yesterday, and now joining me again for the second half is Maayan Silver of member station WUWM - so good to have you here, Maayan.
MAAYAN SILVER, BYLINE: Hey there.
SHAPIRO: Tell us where we're beginning this half of the journey.
SILVER: So we're starting in about the midway point of North Avenue within the city of Milwaukee. It's a neighborhood called Metcalfe Park. It's a predominantly Black neighborhood. We're going to an institution there called Bill the Butcher. It's been around for decades, but for the past three years, it's been owned by a woman named Latoya James.
SHAPIRO: Hey, Latoya. Hi. I'm Ari. How are you?
LATOYA JAMES: Nice to meet you.
SHAPIRO: Nice to meet you.
Did you grow up in this community?
JAMES: I definitely did. I've been here all my life, all 45 years of it.
SHAPIRO: When you were a kid and your family was shopping for food here, did you ever think one day you'd be the owner?
JAMES: Never, never, ever, never (laughter). So I was kind of, like, patting myself on the back.
SHAPIRO: Yeah.
JAMES: (Laughter).
SHAPIRO: In the last two presidential elections, she voted for Hillary Clinton and then Joe Biden. And this time, she hasn't decided between Harris and Trump.
JAMES: He makes good points. And I'm kind of like, Kamala, sorry. But then it's like, OK, Kamala, you got good points. But then it's like - so yeah. I'm in between. I'm in between.
SILVER: And what is it that you like about Trump and his policies right now?
JAMES: Trump is kind of firm. He say what he means, and he means what he say.
SILVER: She doesn't usually talk about politics with folks in the community. And Lakeisha Ashford (ph), who's here shopping for groceries, wants to avoid it, too. She can't wait for the campaign to be over.
LAKEISHA ASHFORD: To me, it's, like, a bad representation of adults to kids 'cause kids are watching.
SHAPIRO: What's the most important issue to you?
ASHFORD: The price cutting for rent and food. And I do agree with Vice President Harris saying that - affordable for people to buy houses in the neighborhoods. That's a good thing. That's what we really need.
SHAPIRO: As we leave the city and enter the suburbs, we pass a sign that says, entering Wauwatosa.
SILVER: We're still in Milwaukee County, but this small city on the outskirts used to be reliably Republican. Now it's been going for Democrats, which is a trend we see in suburbs nationally.
SHAPIRO: You know what this journey is missing? Play. Let's head to The Little Village Play Cafe.
Chris Balmer (ph) and his wife, Leah (ph), a labor and delivery nurse, are here with their 14-month-old boy, Jude (ph).
LEAH: Jude is our first son out of an IVF pregnancy. And so the election is, like, go to be really important to us for, like, access to reproductive care and reproductive health. That and working in labor and delivery - it really affects kind of every aspect of my life right now.
CHRIS BALMER: I hate that so much of our life is in the balance as well that - like, because we have eggs in the freezer, if Trump gets elected, that there's a very good chance that legislation goes into effect that makes our situation illegal. And that's...
SHAPIRO: You don't believe him when he says, I support IVF.
BALMER: No, not even a little bit. No.
SILVER: A 3-year-old boy runs by with a toy cow. His father, Duane Tomka (ph), voted for Trump in 2016 and sat the election out in 2020.
SHAPIRO: And this time, he's leaning Republican but can't commit just yet.
SILVER: What holds you back from liking Trump, though?
DUANE TOMKA: He's abrasive, which - I think that shoots him in the foot a lot of times. Honestly, I think it's a lot of the people like me just don't want to say what they feel - that they may vote for Trump.
SILVER: Our last stop of the day is out near the end of North Avenue.
SHAPIRO: We're heading out to Waukesha County, which has been a base of Republican support for years.
SILVER: So we're actually going to a retirement community in the city of Brookfield. The city of Brookfield is a battleground city within a battleground county within a battleground state.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: For two dollars for this traditional (ph).
SILVER: At Ruby Commons Retirement Community, happy hour starts at 2 so the residents can start dinner at 4. And this afternoon is Bingo.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Bingo.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL RINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Yay.
(CROSSTALK)
SHAPIRO: Joanne Carstens (ph) is 94 and steps away from the game to chat in the hallway. She politely declines the chair we offer.
JOANNE CARSTENS: When I'm over 100, then I'll pull up a chair.
SILVER: She avoids talking politics with the other residents here, but she thinks about it a lot.
CARSTENS: I'm worried that Trump will not win. I am very, very concerned about the election.
SHAPIRO: Tell us what your concern is.
CARSTENS: The open borders, the lack of police support.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: I-16.
PHYLLIS GLANT: How can a convicted felon run for office? I don't understand that one.
SHAPIRO: Eighty-one-year-old Phyllis Glant (ph) has glittery, blue rhinestones on the seam of her jeans. She used to be a fashion model, posing in ball gowns and wedding dresses.
SILVER: She also used to be a Republican, but she switched to supporting Democrats more than 60 years ago over the issue of abortion rights.
GLANT: And that disturbed me so much because these young kids that might end up pregnant could have to carry a baby to term. I just think that's awful if they don't want to.
SHAPIRO: In one of the apartments at Ruby Commons, Louise Fogelstrum (ph) is watching Fox News with David (ph), her husband of 63 years.
LOUISE FOGELSTRUM: T-R-U-M-P. Trump. Trump. Trump.
SILVER: She is a former cheerleader.
L FOGELSTRUM: Stand them on their head. Stand them on their feet. Trump can't be beat. Hey. I just came up with that.
SILVER: The Fogelstrums used to work together in the building products industry.
L FOGELSTRUM: You were my boss, but I always told you what to do.
DAVID FOGELSTRUM: Wrong.
SHAPIRO: This husband and wife in their 80s use pretty salty language to talk about Harris, the only Wisconsin voters we met who spoke this way about the candidate they oppose.
L FOGELSTRUM: Well, she lies. And that one commercial, when she said, the migrants don't kill anybody (laughter) - I'd like to take that laugh and shove it down her throat. I really would. If she came into this house, I'd say, get your butt out. I don't want to see you.
D FOGELSTRUM: There's the door, and don't let it hit you on the backside on the way out.
L FOGELSTRUM: That's right.
SHAPIRO: Are there things about Trump specifically as a person that you especially like?
D FOGELSTRUM: I think he's just a regular guy. What you see is what you get.
SILVER: Here at Ruby Commons, the staff seems to really care personally about the residents. There are fresh flowers in the vases and lots of activities every day.
SHAPIRO: Jocelyn Clark (ph) told us she gets paid to do fun stuff with the seniors, and she's excited to cast her ballot.
JOCELYN CLARK: This year is the year I became an American citizen, and it's the first year I get to vote.
SHAPIRO: She's 30 and agreed to talk with us about the election with the clear distinction that these are her personal views and not those of her employer.
SILVER: Her family is from Honduras. She moved here eight years ago.
CLARK: So for me, being able to live in this time where I can vote for the first female president is super-exciting.
SILVER: What is it going to feel like when you cast that ballot? Like, can you describe it?
CLARK: Well, it was amazing when I got to vote for the primary ones, and I honestly tear up. I save my voting sticker in a little box. And it just felt great 'cause now you feel like you have a voice and you belong somewhere, you know?
SHAPIRO: That's Jocelyn Clark, new American citizen and first-time voter. And, Maayan Silver, thank you for hosting us here in your home state of Wisconsin and taking us on a tour of the many different kinds of voters that you can meet along North Avenue.
SILVER: It's been great having you, Ari. Come back any time.
SHAPIRO: And tomorrow we'll hear how both campaigns in Wisconsin are pursuing the strategy of lose by less in parts of the state where their opponent is strongest as our series We, The Voters continues. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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