Presidential candidate visits and intense fall election season top story of 2024 in La Crosse

From presidential campaign visits to new maps addressing gerrymandering and highly contested state races, this year was marked by pivotal moments that shaped the state’s future and its role as a microcosm of national political trends.

This election season, La Crosse was at the center of it all.

The nation was shocked by President Joe Biden’s July announcement that he would end his run for the presidency. Instead, Vice President Kamala Harris took on the unprecedented role of running a campaign in 107 days.

In that time, the La Crosse region had separate visits from all members of each party’s tickets.

President Biden, Harris, Donald Trump stumped in the region and Tim Walz and J.D. Vance visited on the day before the election.

As Wisconsin was decided by just 30,000 votes, the La Crosse region clearly played a significant role.

Democrats also saw an opportunity to flip Wisconsin’s 3rd District blue this year, returning it to its former state as a Democratic stronghold. A strong showing by the Republicans returned first-term Congressman Derrick Van Orden to office.

Three Democrats, Rebecca Cooke, state Rep. Katrina Shankland and Eric Wilson vied to unseat Van Orden.

During the primary, the Democrats ran negative campaign ads targeting one another ahead of the August primary, which Rebecca Cooke ultimately won.

In a hotly contested race, Cooke was able to match Van Orden’s fundraising in the Republican-leaning district.

The race also sparked controversy, as the two were unable to agree to terms on a debate with one another.

In the end, the race, like many others across the U.S., went to the Republicans, adding to an already good night for the party.

While regional and national politics did not play out well for Wisconsin Democrats, local elections saw a favorable shift for them.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed new maps into law that opened doors for Democrats across the state to challenge the long-entrenched Republicans in the state Assembly and state Senate, leveling the electoral playing field that once favored Republicans.

Every district in the La Crosse area underwent major boundary shifts that made once near-certain victories an uphill battle for incumbent candidates in both parties.

Most leaders in the region retained their seats, including Democrats Sen. Brad Pfaff, Rep. Jill Billings, and Rep. Steve Doyle, who narrowly won.

However, for Republican Rep. Loren Oldenburg, his Assembly district was redrawn to strongly favor Democrats. Facing a strong challenge from Tara Johnson, he was ousted from his position in a 51% to 49% split vote.

That race was part of a larger trend around the state caused by the new maps, which reduced Wisconsin’s Republican majority in the Assembly from a 29-seat lead to a 10-seat lead.