Vice President Kamala Harris speaks in Kenosha on Aug. 3, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
RIPON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — It appears Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign stop in the Fox Valley will be at Ripon College.
According to an email sent to Ripon students and staff, the Democratic presidential nominee’s event is expected to take place Thursday afternoon. The event is listed as invitation-only. The email invites members of the Ripon campus community to apply to attend, but attendance is not guaranteed.
The email from President Victoria Folse says all classes, academic and extracurricular activities on the upper campus will be canceled on Thursday, as are afternoon classes and events on the lower campus.
The email emphasizes that Ripon College does not endorse political candidates, and would respond similarly if Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump or vice presidential candidate JD Vance wanted to speak on campus. Ripon College hosted a campaign stop by Republican Vice President Mike Pence in 2020.
Ripon Police say they are planning for an unspecified special event in the city Thursday.
So far, Vice President Kamala Harris has visited Wisconsin four times since becoming the Democratic nominee for President. Thursday’s trip would be her fifth, and her first to the Northeast Wisconsin region.
“The whole world is watching Northeast Wisconsin. And the reason they’re watching is because this could very well be the district that not only decides the presidential, but we could decide the fate of the Senate,” said Democratic candidate for Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District, Kristin Lyerly, on Tuesday. “It certainly could decide the fate of the house with this vacant seat.”
“We have had a ton of visits from national figures, people on both tickets to Wisconsin. And I think that’s a great thing for our state,” said Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul.
According to a website for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Harris is set to visit the Fox Valley Thursday.
The Harris-Walz campaign has not officially confirmed the visit.
UW-Green Bay Associate Professor of Political Science, David Helpap, says political visits could be key for both candidates, with a little more than a month to go until election day.
“If you come to an area closer to an election, your visit perhaps is top of mind then. So people are going to the polls and all of sudden they’re like ‘Oh, I just saw this candidate here, I mean, they clearly care because they came here really close to the election.’ And maybe they don’t remember the person that came three months ago,” said Helpap.
Republicans say they’re anticipating a visit to the region from Harris, as Donald Trump has remained busy on the campaign trail in Wisconsin.
“I anticipate the other side coming here, but what I would like to see is them actually take questions from the press, from both the local and national press and answer questions that our voters have about the border, about inflation,” said Republican Party of Brown Co. Chair, Doug Reich.
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