We're in rural Altoona, Wisconsin, where the population is 9,287.

[Passages]

Link to tweet

Bernie Sanders
@BernieSanders
We’re told that rural America doesn’t like progressive ideas.

Not what I saw today at our great rally in Altoona, WI — population 9,200.

People here, and across the country, understand that health care is a human right, and our economy must work for all, not just the few.

Link to tweet

We’re in rural Altoona, Wisconsin, where the population is 9,287.

More than 2,000 people have lined up for our town hall today.

The working class of this country is very clear:

We will NOT accept oligarchy in America.

[CanonRay]

1. By how much did Altoona go for Trump?

Just wondering

[Wiz Imp]

3. Looks like Harris actually beat Trump in the City of Altoona 53%-46%

That's Eau Claire County in Wisconsin and Harris beat Trump in the county 54-44. So this wasn't exactly in typical rural Trump country.

https://www.eauclairecounty.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/55865/638664481083770000

[Woodycall]

5. On every election night...

Eau Claire County is a bright blue dot in a sea of red. Kind of like Austin is to Texas...

[Passages]

7. Politics Key More liberal Split evenly More conservative

Altoona tends to be slightly democratic based on voting results in recent elections. Compared to other nearby cities, Altoona has more democratic voters. Compared to the nation as a whole, Altoona leans more democratic.

Highly educated populations with bachelor’s degrees or higher tend to vote for more liberal candidates. In Altoona, 33.97% of all adults have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. Educated women are far less likely to vote for conservatives, and in Altoona women make up 46.14% of the population.

Older Americans tend to vote more conservatively. Members of the Boomer and Silent generations (born 1928-1964) more often vote for Republicans while GenX, Millennials (born 1965-1996) and younger generations consistently support Democrats. The median age in Altoona is 37.4, which is younger than the national median age of 38.1.

Is Altoona a political battleground? Across all types of political contests in Altoona, including state, local and presidential elections, races come within five percentage points 28% of the time.
https://bestneighborhood.org/conservative-vs-liberal-map-altoona-wi/

[Sogo]

2. Is Bernie kicking off his run for 2028?

nt

[Woodycall]

4. That's fantastic but a little bit misleading.

Altoona is contiguous with, and directly adjacent to Eau Clare.

"...This is the definition used by the Chippewa - Eau Claire Metropolitan Planning Organization. According to the 2015 census estimates, this core area had a 2015 population of 129,665."

The Eau Claire Metropolitan Statistical Area is about 210K.

[Passages]

6. Altoona

Altoona (/ælˈtuːnə/ al-TOO-nə [7] is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,292 at the 2020 census[8] with an estimated population in 2022 of 9,149.[9] The city is a railroad terminal on the Union Pacific Railroad.

History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altoona,_Wisconsin

[Woodycall]

8. I live in the metro area

Last edited Sat Mar 8, 2025, 11:12 PM - Edit history (2)

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Altoona,+WI/@44.8058684,-91.4514723,12709m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x87f8bb7f72acfacb:0x37db306976865071!8m2!3d44.8046825!4d-91.4432148!16zL20vMDExMjFx?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDMwNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Altoona, while I wouldn't call it a suburb of Eau Claire because it is an actual small autonomous city and a great place to live, is mostly residential in nature. Many, if not most of it's residents work in the larger City of Eau Claire or even Chippewa Falls. Most people in the Eau Claire-Altoona-Chippewa Falls contiguous metro area identify as "residents of the Chippewa Valley" and not much more thought is given to exactly where you live within that greater community. There is also a "ton" of cooperation, coordination, and goodwill throughout.

[Passages]

9. Thank you for that. I appreciate the background.