College Towns Usually Lift Democrats. Is the Picture More Complicated in 2024?

If you want to be the president, you should probably win Wisconsin.

And if you are a Democrat, there is a proven way to do that: Run up the numbers in Dane County, the fast-growing and deeply progressive swath of the state that contains Madison and the behemoth public university that carries the state’s name.

President Biden’s trip on Monday to a technical college in Madison, where he announced a new plan to help pay off student loans, seemed to be part of an effort to build excitement around his re-election bid in a college town that has been a bright spot for Democrats, one seen as crucial to his victory in the state in 2020 and vital to his chances in November.

“My district,” said State Senator Kelda Roys, a Democrat who represents much of Madison, “could potentially decide the fate of the free world.”

But this year, amid signs of an enthusiasm gap among young voters and widespread anger on college campuses over the administration’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza, college towns are emerging as a more complex battleground for Democrats. So I decided to head to Madison myself.

“I’m definitely a little bit nervous,” said Megan Eisenstein, the communications director of the College Democrats group at Lawrence University, who had traveled from her campus in Appleton, Wis., to Madison over the weekend for the statewide College Democrats convention.

“I think right now,” she added, “the hardest thing is to make young people excited about Joe Biden.”