DE PERE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The race for the White House has been underway for a while, but the GOP presidential debate has campaigns from both parties turning up their efforts in Wisconsin.
Americans for Prosperity, a political action committee with a history of financially backing Republican candidates nationwide, stopped at De Pere’s Quarry Park on the eve of the debate.
“He’s going to run his re-election on Bidenomics, can you believe that?” former Republican State Senator Roger Roth asked a crowd gathered at the park.
Roth and others took turns sharing stories of how inflation has impacted them, while placing blame on President Joe Biden’s policies.
“Instead of addressing the issues of inflation, he’s attempted to spend more money to the point where the government was about to shut down and all he had to do was cut spending a little bit,” said Jamiroquan Kittler, a Milwaukee-based supervisor of grassroots operations for Americans for Prosperity.
President Biden’s campaign is using the economy as a reason he should be re-elected. The Biden-Harris campaign just announced its spending $25 million to run commercials in seven swing states, including Wisconsin.
“We are obviously making the case for the President’s record of accomplishments as people continue to feel the benefits of this economy, the consumer confidence at a high, employee satisfaction near an all-time highs, 13 million new jobs, 800,000 of those manufacturing jobs, inflation down over the past year,” said Michael Tyler, the communications director for the Biden campaign.
The Consumer Price Index increased 3.2% over the last year, which is down from 8.5% the previous year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
President Biden was in Milwaukee just a week ago, taking credit for the economy’s progress.
“Since I took office, I’ve seen more than $3 billion in private investment in clean energy manufacturing all across Wisconsin,” said Biden. “That’s Bidenomics. That is investing in America.”
“People are slowly trying to get back to work, but there’s still more work to do,” said Kittler. “We were starting to look at one of the greatest economic booms in our country prior to COVID. That is where we want to be at.”
An Associated Press poll released less than a week ago shows 36% of Americans currently approve of President Biden’s handling of the economy.
