WAUSAU, Wis. — Ahead of the April 1 election, grassroots volunteers like Carolyn Michalski are going the extra mile — one door at a time.
Since the 2008 presidential election, Michalski has canvassed on behalf of the Marathon County Democratic Party. While she’s slowed down a bit in recent years, Michalski believes that every bit helps, calling on younger people to do their part.
“You can’t just sit home right now and say, ‘it’s all going to be okay,’” Michalski told The Daily Cardinal. “We need young people to get highly involved because when you look around the room, we’re all older. Young people need to pick up the mantle and pick up the fight.”
On March 22, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin launched its “Get Out the Vote” door-to-door canvassing campaign across the state in order to turn out the vote for Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford ahead of the pivotal April 1 election.
Michalski was just one of 30 volunteers who went out canvassing Saturday.
“It’s all hands on deck,” WisDems Chair Ben Wikler told grassroots volunteers in Wausau. “This is the work that we can do as grassroots activists.”
To have a shot at winning, Democrats must organize everywhere, Wikler told the Cardinal. That includes Marathon County — which President Donald Trump won by a comfortable 18.6% margin in the 2024 presidential election.
“You can't just focus on the bluest areas. Wausau itself has a ton of Democrats, but there's Democrats even in rural Marathon County, who, if they get that phone call or that knock on the door, are more likely to turn out and vote for Crawford,” Wikler told the Cardinal.
While Wisconsin Supreme Court races are officially nonpartisan, they have become increasingly polarized in recent years as the two major political parties continue to back their preferred candidate. While Crawford seeks to maintain the court’s narrow liberal majority while her opponent, former Republican Wisconsin Attorney General and Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel, seeks to swing Wisconsin’s high court back to conservatives.
Key issues currently pending before the court include decisions on abortion rights, Act 10 and Gov. Tony Evers’ line-item veto that extended school funding for 402 years.
Marathon County Democratic Party Chair Nancy Stencil emphasized the importance of this race and called on volunteers to give it their all.
“You can go home and cry, or you can get out there and give it the best shot you possibly can, however you can,” Stencil said. “Every little bit helps.”
Voters can find their polling place for the April 1 spring election by visiting the MyVote Wisconsin website.
Anna Kleiber is the state news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as the arts editor. Anna has written in-depth on elections, legislative maps and campus news. She will spend the summer as the 2025 Sharon Stark political reporting intern with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Anna has previously interned with WisPolitics and Madison Magazine. Follow her on X at @annakleiber03.
