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Wisconsinites gathered on Nov. 7 to celebrate or protest — depending on their politics — former Vice President Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Wisconsin Watch photographers captured scenes in Madison and Milwaukee in the hours after media organizations called the race.

On one side of the state Capitol in Madison, Trump supporters gathered for a previously scheduled rally dubbed “Stop the Steal,” with many echoing the Trump’s false claims that voter fraud tilted the election in favor of Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris. Meanwhile, a loud and spontaneous pro-Biden dance party unfolded on the other side of the Capitol.

Tempers occasionally flared as horns honked, music blared and speeches echoed around the Capitol, but the dueling demonstrations largely remained peaceful.

Eighty miles west of Madison, Milwaukee residents celebrated Biden’s victory in Zeidler Union Square, the city’s oldest public park.

Voters in Milwaukee and Madison overwhelmingly backed Biden in the race, helping him to win Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes by just 20,539 votes, according to uncertified results.

The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (wisconsinwatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.

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Jubilation and outrage: How Wisconsinites reacted to news of Joe Biden’s presidential victory

by Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch
November 9, 2020

<h1>Jubilation and outrage: How Wisconsinites reacted to news of Joe Biden’s presidential victory</h1> <p class="byline">by Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch <br />November 9, 2020</p> <br /> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_01.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155969" /><figcaption>Madison resident Alfonzo Noble participates in a car parade around the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7, 2020. Earlier in the day major media organizations had called the presidential election in favor of Democratic candidate Joe Biden.</figcaption></figure> <p>Wisconsinites gathered on Nov. 7 to celebrate or protest — depending on their politics —&nbsp;former Vice President Joe Biden's victory over President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Wisconsin Watch photographers captured scenes in Madison and Milwaukee in the hours after media organizations called the race.</p> <p>On one side of the state Capitol in Madison, Trump supporters gathered for a previously scheduled rally dubbed "Stop the Steal," with many echoing the Trump's false claims that voter fraud tilted the election in favor of Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris. Meanwhile, a loud and spontaneous pro-Biden dance party unfolded on the other side of the Capitol. </p> <p>Tempers occasionally flared as horns honked, music blared and speeches echoed around the Capitol, but the dueling demonstrations largely remained peaceful. </p> <p>Eighty miles west of Madison, Milwaukee residents celebrated Biden's victory in Zeidler Union Square, the city's oldest public park. </p> <p>Voters in Milwaukee and Madison overwhelmingly backed Biden in the race, helping him to win Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes by just 20,539 votes, according to uncertified results.</p> </p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_02.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155970" /><figcaption>Judy Evenson, left, and Jidme Norten are seen at a pro-Joe Biden rally on the State Street side of the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7, 2020. Earlier in the day major media organizations had called the presidential election in favor of Biden, the former vice president and now president-elect.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_03.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155971" /><figcaption>People celebrate the election victory of President-elect Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7, 2020.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_04.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155972" /><figcaption>People celebrate the presidential victory of President-elect Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7, 2020. </figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_06.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155974" /><figcaption>Rudy Zablocki, center, of Itasca, Ill., rallies in support of President Donald Trump at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7, 2020. "Trump's election was stolen, it’s obvious," he said, echoing the president's false claims of election fraud. </figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_05.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155973" /><figcaption>Mark Sullivan from Horicon, Wis., rallies in support of President Donald Trump at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7, 2020. “I’m here to protect the Constitution. It is very important that every legal vote is counted. And if Mr. Biden wins after every legal vote is counted, I have no problem with that," he said.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_08.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155976" /><figcaption>A man holds a sign reading "Voting Ends on Election Day. Not the Day After" at a rally in support of President Donald Trump at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7, 2020. </figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_07.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155975" /><figcaption>A supporter of President Donald Trump rallies at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7, following the declared victory of President-elect Joe Biden in the 2020 election. </figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_11.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155979" /><figcaption>People celebrate President-elect Joe Biden's 2020 victory over President Donald Trump at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7.</figcaption></figure> <div class="wp-block-columns alignwide"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_10.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155978" /><figcaption>People celebrate President-elect Joe Biden's 2020 election victory over President Donald Trump at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7.</figcaption></figure> </p></div> <div class="wp-block-column"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_09.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155977" /><figcaption>Madison activist Shyelle speaks at a rally celebrating the presidential victory of President-elect Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7, 2020. </figcaption></figure> </p></div> </p></div> <figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_12.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155980" /><figcaption>A supporter of President Donald Trump argues with a supporter of President-elect Joe Biden outside of a pro-Trump rally at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7, 2020. </figcaption></figure> <div class="wp-block-columns alignwide"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_13.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155981" /><figcaption>Marie, center, from Pleasant Prairie, Wis., rallies in support of President Donald Trump rally at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7, 2020. "I saw some of the fraud with my own eyes," she said, echoing Trump's baseless claims that voter fraud tilted votes in favor of opponent President-elect Joe Biden.</figcaption></figure> </p></div> <div class="wp-block-column"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_14.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155982" /><figcaption>A supporter of President Donald Trump holds a sign directing people to Newsmax, a conservative news and opinion website that has promoted some of Trump's lies about the election — including baseless claims of voter fraud — during a rally in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7, 2020.</figcaption></figure> </p></div> </p></div> <div class="wp-block-columns alignwide"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_15.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155983" /><figcaption>Rev. Greg Lewis, executive director of Souls to the Polls Milwaukee and a pastor at St. Gabriels Church of God in Christ, speaks during a celebration of the Biden-Harris election victory at Zeidler Union Square in downtown Milwaukee on Nov. 7, 2020. “When you came out and you voted and you weren't afraid, you did what you had to do,” he said. “And now we made a difference, not only in the state, the nation, but we made a difference in the world.”</figcaption></figure> </p></div> <div class="wp-block-column"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_17.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155985" /><figcaption>A supporter of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris holds up a sign during a celebration at Zeidler Union Square in downtown Milwaukee on Nov. 7, 2020.</figcaption></figure> </p></div> </p></div> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_16.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155984" /><figcaption>Children color in letters to spell out “Count Every Vote” at a celebration of the Biden-Harris victory at Zeidler Union Square in downtown Milwaukee on Nov. 7, 2020. </figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_18.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155986" /><figcaption>Felesia Martin, first vice-chair in the Wisconsin Democratic Party, speaks during a celebration of the Biden-Harris victory at Zeidler Union Square in downtown Milwaukee on Nov. 7, 2020. She credited communities of color for the President-elect Joe Biden's victory. “We sent ‘45’ packing out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, because that’s whose house?” she said, prompting the crowd to chant back, “Our house.”</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_19.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155987" /><figcaption>Troy, a cross-county truck driver from Texas participates in a pro-President Donald Trump rally at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7, 2020. “I don’t want people coming out of the cemetery and voting. I don’t want fraud. I don’t want corruption. I want truth and honesty. I don’t want a criminal running for president of the United States,” he said, echoing Trump's false allegations of voter fraud in his election loss to Joe Biden. </figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_20.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155988" /><figcaption>In an example of social media disinformation spilling into reality, a President Donald Trump supporter named Benson, from Chicago, accused President-elect Joe Biden of pedophilia — a repeatedly debunked claim that has no basis in reality —&nbsp;during a pro-Trump rally in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7, 2020. </figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-default"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_reaction_22.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1155990" /><figcaption>People are seen at a pro-President Donald Trump rally at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 7, 2020. </figcaption></figure> <p><em>The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (<a href="https://wisconsinwatch.org">wisconsinwatch.org</a>) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.</em></p> <p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://wisconsinwatch.org/2020/11/photos-joe-biden-victory-celebration-and-protest/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://wisconsinwatch.org">Wisconsin Watch</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cropped-WCIJ_IconOnly_FullColor_RGB-1.png?fit=150%2C150&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=1156018&amp;ga3=UA-17896820-1" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p> Copy to Clipboard

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