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- Sticking out into Lake Michigan, Door County is one of Wisconsin's most picturesque jurisdictions.
- The county, popular with visitors from across the Midwest, has 300 miles of shoreline.
- Door County is also a presidential bellwether, having backed the winning candidate since 1996.
In the east-central region of Wisconsin, a picturesque county sits on a peninsula that sticks out into Lake Michigan like a thumb.
Door County, one of the swingiest counties in one the most prominent presidential swing states, is set to take center stage once again in the 2024 presidential contest.
In 2020, now-President Joe Biden defeated then-President Donald Trump in Door County 49.9%-48.5%, or by roughly 1.4 points. Out of approximately 20,000 votes cast in the county that year, Biden won only 292 more votes than Trump.
Biden went on to win Wisconsin by roughly 20,000 votes out of almost 3.3 million ballots cast.
Four years earlier, it was Trump who won Door County, defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by a 48.8%-45.6% margin, with Trump edging out Clinton by 566 votes out of nearly 18,000 ballots cast countywide.
Trump narrowly flipped Wisconsin in 2016, turning red a state that hadn't backed a GOP presidential nominee since Ronald Reagan won the Midwestern battleground in 1984.
Door County has a habit of making itself stand out among the state's 72 counties, backing the winning presidential candidate in every election since 1996, one of the longest such streaks in the country. From Bill Clinton's reelection bid to George W. Bush's bids in 2000 and 2004, and followed by Barack Obama's victories in 2008 and 2012, the county has been, for nearly 28 years, one of the most accurate predictors of who will win the presidency.
What defines Door County?
It's a popular destination spot, with an enviable shoreline that attracts visitors from across the Midwest.
The county seat is Sturgeon Bay, a city of nearly 10,000 residents.
A pressing issue for the region is the pent-up demand for affordable housing, as reported by The Washington Post.
With a surge in migrants into the US, some have sought to settle and work in Door County, bringing the nation's contentious immigration debate to a place where can elections be won or lost by tight margins. (Like many communities in the Midwest, Door County has long had seasonal workers work on farms and in other local businesses.)
And with the 2024 election expected to be another close contest, Door County is likely to hold significant sway in this key swing state once again.