Joe Biden to return to Wisconsin for a Monday stop in Manitowoc

Mary Spicuzza
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will be back in Wisconsin on Monday for a campaign stop in Manitowoc.

In what is shaping up to be a busy political week in Wisconsin, Biden's visit will be followed by Vice President Mike Pence, a frequent visitor to the battleground state, who will be in Eau Claire on Thursday.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will also be in the Badger State. He is scheduled to deliver a foreign policy speech on Wednesday to state lawmakers inside the state Capitol in Madison.

Monday will mark Biden's second visit to Wisconsin this month. In early September, he traveled to Kenosha, where he accused President Donald Trump of breathing life into racist movements as he visited the Wisconsin city shaken by shootings and unrest.

During that visit, he also privately talked with the family of Jacob Blake, the man shot by a Kenosha police officer. Biden also stopped in Wauwatosa.

Biden's visit Monday comes less than a week after Trump held a Thursday night rally in Mosinee. Trump was in Kenosha about three weeks ago.

Alec Zimmerman, spokesman for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said Biden's visit wouldn't help him win support here. Zimmerman praised Trump, saying he "has opened up new markets for Wisconsin workers" with the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.

"Now Joe Biden is desperately trying to reverse his eroding support amongst middle-class Americans, but he supported NAFTA — which cost American jobs," Zimmerman said.

Anna Kelly, a Trump campaign spokeswoman, called his visit a "last-ditch effort to parachute into the Badger State."

Contact Mary Spicuzza at (414) 224-2324 or mary.spicuzza@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MSpicuzzaMJS.