WISCONSIN -- This week Wisconsin Democrats held Donald Trump and Mike Pence accountable for their failed COVID-19 response and the disastrous policies they’ve made that have crushed Wisconsin’s economy. Wisconsinites -- from elected officials to organized labor to business owners -- called out the administration for leaving the Badger state behind. 

See what they said below:

CBS News: “"I think the Trump campaign is desperate to recover from an ongoing implosion," Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler said. "The challenge that the Trump team faces is that coming to Wisconsin just reminds people about how badly they've mismanaged the COVID crisis and the economy, even before the COVID crisis."

WTMJ: “But the Democratic Party of Wisconsin says the Trump Administration has not delivered. ‘From failing to provide adequate PPP loans to black-owned businesses, relentlessly attacking protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and creating an economy where the Black community isn't given the same opportunities to get ahead, Trump and Pence have proven that their toxic agenda isn't designed to work for Black Wisconsinites,’  said party Vice Chair Felesia Martin.” 

The Washington Post: In the western part of Wisconsin, farmers have been hammered by a crisis in the dairy industry exacerbated by Trump’s trade war and have shown signs of leaning toward Democrats. Trump has, thus far, fallen far short of his promises to rebuild the Rust Belt’s manufacturing base. Unemployment has skyrocketed to 12 percent in Wisconsin amid a similar rise in the rest of the country because of the coronavirus pandemic. Black voters in Milwaukee particularly hurt by the economic downturn are expected to turn out in more substantial numbers than they did in 2016.

Fox 11: “Green Bay, Marinette -- we know what Trump stands for and it's not for Wisconsinites. It is for himself, it is always been about me, me, me," said State Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay.

WJFW: “But Nygren's democratic challenger Karl Jaeger said it was the President's botched response to COVID-19 that led to record unemployment and more than 120,000 dead due to the coronavirus. "He didn't care about all the workers across Wisconsin whose jobs were lost before," said Jaeger. "He still doesn't care about the families he harmed with his actions, who are still trying to figure out how to pay for their healthcare, their rent, and the food they need to put on their table."

WKOW: “I am gravely concerned,” said Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “Political vanity trips in mists of the coronavirus pandemic do distract attention from resources that could be put into controlling this pandemic and getting our economy back to work,” he said.”

Urban Milwaukee: “Today, ahead of Mike Pence and Donald Trump’s visits to Wisconsin this week, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler, Oconomowoc Alderman and IBEW 494 Political Director John Zapfel, and Bounce Milwaukee Owners Becky and Ryan Clancy held a video press call highlighting the Trump administration’s hypocrisy on religious freedom, how they have destroyed Wisconsin’s economy and relentlessly attacked Wisconsin’s health care during a pandemic.

Gray TV: “State Democratic party leader Ben Wikler claims the visit is intended to distract voters. ‘He is desperate to change the subject,’ said Wikler. ‘The jobs that have been lost across the state, in our agricultural and industrial sectors, are not going to be rushing back.’” 

WSAW: “Taking public health seriously both is the right thing to do, and it tracks with what the public wants,” state Democrat chair Ben Wikler noted. He said their state team, which is set to integrate with the Biden campaign team, made millions of phone calls, text messages and social outreaches for the April race and have been scaling up involvement in every election since 2016.

Fox 11: “The Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Philip Shulman released the following statement in response to the president's visit to the state: “Today is nothing more than an election year photo-op for Donald Trump, whose failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic has risen Wisconsin's unemployment to 12%. Trump didn't care about the Badger state until he remembered his name will be on the ballot, as his chaotic trade wars and tax scam bill cost us 818 dairy farms and thousands of manufacturing jobs in 2019 alone. What's more is Trump is continuing his callous crusade to repeal the ACA, which would strip millions of Wisconsinites of their health insurance, threaten protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and eliminate an affordable option for those who lost their employer-based health care during this pandemic. This is nothing more than a cheap ploy that Wisconsinites will see through as they plan to vote for Joe Biden come November.”

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/trump-protest-marinette-s5.jpg2016 swing states slipping away from him.

As Trump fights in court to destroy the ACA even in the middle of a pandemic, Priorities is holding him accountable for the consequences.

Advocacy group won't back down from holding Trump accountable.

WASHINGTON, DC - Priorities USA Action released the following statement in response to the odd press release from the Trump campaign after Priorities successfully intervened as a defendant in the Trump campaign's lawsuit in Wisconsin:

Priorities USA Action successfully intervened as a defendant in the lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign against a small Wisconsin TV station in a desperate attempt to prevent Americans from hearing the truth about Trump's failed response to the coronavirus pandemic which has cost over 120,000 American lives and millions of jobs. We stand by the facts in our ad that uses Trump's own words. We won't back down from holding Trump accountable for failing America." - Guy Cecil, Chairman of Priorities USA

Running in the 5th Congressional District, formerly held by long-time Republican congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, Democrat wants to be a representative that listens.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/trump-testing-pusa-s5.png“Americans have died, gotten sick or lost their jobs because of Donald Trump’s selfishness, negligence, and incompetence. What he admitted to in Tulsa is nothing short of a tragedy,” said PUSA.

Paid media part of ongoing $14 million environmental swing voter program.

Washington, D.C. — As part of its ongoing $14 million anti-Trump campaign targeting ‘environmental swing voters,’ LCV Victory Fund released new digital ads and direct mail that expose the truth about Donald Trump’s harmful environmental record, and its similarities to his coronavirus response.

The ongoing paid media campaign targets voters in the battleground states of Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. LCV Victory Fund is partnering with Priorities USA Action for the digital programs in Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Since the start of the paid media campaign last month, the ads have had tens of millions of impressions on various digital platforms including Facebook, YouTube, and Hulu across all six battleground states.

WATCH: "Titans"
WATCH: "Hook"
WATCH: "Serious"
WATCH: "Tapped"
WATCH: "Cries Hoax"
WATCH: "Family"
WATCH: "Every Year"
WATCH: "Out of Sight"

MAILER: “Warning”
MAILER: “Hoax”
MAILER: “Losing Arizona”
MAILER: “Water & Health"
MAILER: “Our North Carolina”
MAILER: “Doctor”

“Donald Trump is currently exploiting a nation in pain, in the middle of a pandemic that is disproportionately harmful to Black, Latinx and Indigenous communities, to dismantle environmental policies that protect our children and families,” said Pete Maysmith, LCV Victory Fund Senior Vice President of Campaigns. “Voters need to know that Trump refuses to listen to experts, prioritizes corporations over people, and denies the threat of climate change just like he denied the threat of the coronavirus. Trump is putting the health of our communities at extreme risk, especially communities of color and low-income communities.”

“Donald Trump’s environmental record is self-serving, reckless, and dangerous,” said Priorities USA Executive Director Patrick McHugh. “Voters deserve to hear the truth about the existential threat that four more years of Trump represents, and the disproportionate harm his policies stand to bring to our most vulnerable communities, already hurting from the multiple crises we’re facing as a nation.”

The new ads and mail use research-driven messaging about Trump’s record on climate, and its links to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the environment, and the damage he’s doing to clean air and drinkable water. Some of the ads address state-specific environmental issues, like “Out of Sight,” which is running in Arizona and points to the state’s extremely high air pollution levels and the negative impacts that Trump’s latest rollbacks of air pollution safeguards could have on Arizonans’ health, including exacerbating the symptoms of coronavirus. In North Carolina, “Family” and “Tapped” call attention to the highly contaminated drinking water in the state, including with toxic coal ash, and the way Trump’s actions are making contamination worse.

This high-frequency digital advertising and accompanying high repetition direct mail program is targeted at a total universe of 1.58 million “environmental swing voters” who were identified through advanced modeling techniques. The program will continue to run until the Democratic National Convention on August 16.

Scripts of the new ads are below.

“Titans”
Our kids aren’t titans of industry
Or big political donors
But their safety still matters
Corporate polluters are letting cancer causing chemicals
Into drinking water across the state
And President Trump stood up for them
But he should be standing up for our kids

“Hook”
You can’t see the toxins corporate polluters let into our drinking water
But you can see how they get away with it
Because instead of requiring polluters to pay for their mess
Trump’s letting chemical companies off the hook
Ignoring the science and the health experts who know
When polluters don’t pay for the poisons they’ve put in our drinking water
We pay
With our health
Donald Trump has consequences for all of us

“Serious”
You should listen to experts
Even if you think you know best
But while 97% of experts warned about climate change
Trump: ‘Global warming … a lot of it’s a hoax’
And when coronavirus came
Trump: ‘This is their new hoax’
Every time, Trump only listens to himself

“Tapped”
We should now have to worry about our water
But North Carolina has tap water with the highest contamination
From cancer causing forever chemicals
Donald Trump is gutting water pollution protections
And opposing limits on dumping those forever chemicals into our water

“Cries Hoax”
Trump cries hoax and we pay the price
Trump: ‘A lot of it’s a hoax’
Trump: ‘This is their new hoax’
Trump: ‘It’s a hoax, a lot of it’
Trump: ‘It’s a hoax’
Trump denied the threat of coronavirus just like he denied the threat of climate change
Trump doesn’t listen to experts
Instead he cries hoax

“Family”
Drinking water
Taking a bath
Brushing teeth
If our water isn’t safe
Our family isn’t safe
But North Carolina has tap water with the highest contamination
From cancer causing forever chemicals
Now Donald Trump is gutting water pollution protections
Even from toxic coal ash
And opposing safeguards that would limit
The dangerous forever chemicals in our water
We all hoped he’d be different
But we have to look out for our families’ health

“Every Year”
Matthew, Florence, Dorian
Every year stronger, more dangerous
Climate change
It’s raising sea levels and producing bigger storms
But Donald Trump called the science a hoax
And he’s rolling back limits on carbon pollution that causes it
Overruling NASA, the Pentagon, and climate scientists who say we need urgent action
For us that means more flooding, more destruction
Donald Trump is making it worse

“Out of Sight”
While one crisis is dominating the headlines
Another is happening out of sight
Donald Trump is blocking safeguards on dangerous air pollutants
Toxic metals, like mercury, linked to brain damage
And lung damaging industrial particles
Even after a study showed a troubling link to higher coronavirus death rates
Arizona has some of the most polluted air in the nation
When we’re at risk, Donald Trump is making it worse

Assembly District 90 candidate thanks grassroots environment nonprofit for switching endorsement to her from incumbent and fellow Democrat Staush Gruszynski.

GREEN BAY, WI -- Kristina Shelton, Democratic candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly District 90, has been endorsed by Wisconsin Conservation Voters. Shelton earned the endorsement against incumbent Democrat Staush Gruszynski who was awarded the endorsement in 2018.

“Kristina’s commitment to climate action, clean water, democracy and voting access, and her commitment to environmental justice make her the clear candidate in this race,” said WCV in a statement.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters is a statewide grassroots nonprofit that has been advocating for clean energy, safe water, environmental justice, and conservation since 2002.

“Wisconsin Conservation Voters is the gold standard of pushing for environmental justice in Wisconsin.” said Shelton. “Since my campaign has prioritized the fight for clean energy and healthy water, and against climate change, I am honored to have earned WCV’s endorsement. I can’t wait to get to work on our shared goals once I’m elected to the Assembly this November.”

Kristina Shelton has laid out a detailed and ambitious policy agenda. Her priorities include funding for infrastructure and environmental resiliency, affordable healthcare for all, and restoring the strength of Wisconsin’s unions.

Her opponent in the Democratic Party primary, Staush Gruszynksi, was asked to step down after sexually harassing a Capitol staffer last October. After refusing to resign, Gruszynksi was removed from the Democratic Assembly Caucus and relieved of his committee assignments. This means that as the Legislature responds to important conservation issues, constituents of the 90th District have no voice.

WCV joins other organizations including Citizen Action of Wisconsin and Democracy for America in endorsing Shelton. The campaign expects to announce more endorsements in the coming weeks.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/kristina-shelton-s5.jpgClean water and environmental advocacy group says newcomer Shelton is a champion who will offer bold solutions to the problems facing northeastern Wisconsin.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/trump-protesters-split-cnn-s5.jpgThis is the DNC’s Battleground Brief -- a weekly wrap-up of Trump’s broken promises and everything you need to know across the path to 270.