Grassroots canvassers hold lengthy door-to-door talks on healthcare in western Wisconsin

In western Wisconsin, GrassRoots Organizing Western Wisconsin is deploying a deep-canvassing strategy that involves extended, personal dialogues about health-care concerns and BadgerCare expansion. Volunteers, led by Bill Hogseth, share their own medical challenges to encourage residents to recount experiences such as costly ambulance rides, hospital closures and insurance struggles. The initiative focuses on the third congressional district, where Democrat Rebecca Cooke is running against Republican Derrick Van Orden, and coincides with broader state elections that could affect Medicaid policy.

The group plans to complete roughly 4,000 door-to-door talks from May through November, with a cadre of about 40 canvassers active three times weekly. Many participants report increased support for expanding BadgerCare after the conversations, and the campaign is part of a larger effort to highlight health-care cuts tied to recent federal legislation.