Inside the tiny county that's backed the US presidential winner for years
ITV News Correspondent Rachel Younger spoke to Door County residents to see who they will vote for in the US election
Never mind the polls or the political experts - when predicting the US presidential election, you could do worse than visiting Door County, Wisconsin.
On the shores of Lake Michigan, this tiny community of 30,000 people has managed to vote for the winning candidate in every race since Bill Clinton was elected in 1996.
As local dairy farmer Austin Vandertie puts it “whoever wins Door County tends to win the entire election. It varies back and forth but we tend to get it right”.
Austin is the sixth generation to farm in what has been dubbed the “swing-iest county in one of America’s swing-iest states”.
Wisconsin narrowly chose Joe Biden over Donald Trump in 2020 but Austin hopes things will be different this time.
He remembers the economy being healthier under Trump and while he doesn’t always appreciate what he calls the former President’s crassness, that’s his priority.
But Karen Manthey, who we meet door-knocking for the Democrats, could not feel more differently.
She’s meant to be in Wisconsin on holiday but decided to swap hiking for volunteering after Trump’s former chief of staff described him as a fascist.
She tells me her late father, a World War Two veteran, fought against the Nazis in Europe.
“Anybody whose families fought in the war from here - usually it was against an authoritarian government. Our democracy is fragile," Karen said.
Whoever prevails here likely needs the whole of Wisconsin state to win the presidency. Further south, we join a group of drivers, meeting for a race night in Wood County.
Many have dressed themselves and their cars up in Halloween costumes, which seems to suit the mood.
Harleigh Carlson worries about female reproductive rights in this election
It’s unexpectedly hard to find Trump voters here; instead disquiet and uncertainty are the prevailing emotions.
Harleigh Carlson, a young paramedic, is backing Kamala Harris because she does not intend to have children and wants to remain in control of her reproductive rights.
Harleigh tells me: “I guess as a female and a young person that makes this election very important to me."
But the fears of Rick Kellar, a grandfather and retired volunteer, run deeper still.
“I just feel that ex-President Trump, some of his ideas, some of the things he said he’s going to do, are scary to me. He’s also a convicted felon," Rick said.
He draws on a large cigar and blows a long, slow breath out before concluding, “I think our country is on a precipice”.
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