Wisconsin Democrat Party Chair Ben Wikler boldly hinted at a familiar playbook for Election Night: the “Red Mirage” followed by a so-called sudden “Blue Shift” in the dead of night.
Wikler’s comments came as he outlined the Democrats’ electoral strategy in Wisconsin, signaling to expect a familiar pattern where Republicans initially lead, only for Democrats to take the lead overnight—a sequence eerily similar to the 2020 election cycle, where suspicious late-night ballot surges in key battleground states catapulted Joe Biden ahead of President Trump.
Americans will remember how in 2020, all eyes were on swing states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, and, yes, Wisconsin. As votes were counted throughout Election Night, President Trump held substantial leads.
But as midnight passed, counting mysteriously halted, only to resume hours later with massive surges of ballots in Biden’s favor.
Now, Wikler’s words suggest that Wisconsin’s Democrats expect a similar “shift” to play out once again in 2024.
“We know that because Republicans blocked legislation that would have allowed the early processing of mail in ballots, we know that because Republicans blocked that bill, we won’t get the final tally of those votes which will be overwhelmingly Democratic until the middle of the night.”
“In 2020, it was like 3 or 4 in the morning, and that means we should expect a red shift where it seems like Trump is doing better than he is in fact, doing, and then, excuse me — a red mirage — and then a blue shift once those absentee ballot counts come in the middle of the night. Don’t be fooled.”
“And don’t be alarmed if it seems like Trump is overperforming what you’d expect when you get to midnight, because there’s still about 100,000 ballots, kind of big cache of ballots that have yet to be reported in Milwaukee. Because people know that that’s coming. My sense is that they’re fairly calm about it. We can expect all kinds of shenanigans and bogus claims from Republicans.”
“But a ballot is a ballot is a ballot. It will be counted. They are secure. We have free and fair and secure elections in the state of Wisconsin. And the important thing is to not know your fingernails off while we wait for the numbers to come in. They will be counted appropriately. And the winner of the election will win Wisconsin’s electoral college votes.”
WATCH:
NEW: WI Dem Party Chair: Expect to see a “Red Mirage” and then a “Blue Shift” in the “Middle of the Night.”
Here we go again.
BEN WIKLER: “We know that because Republicans blocked legislation that would have allowed the early processing of mail in ballots, we know that… pic.twitter.com/Oi3KoyfOhM
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) November 4, 2024
