The BOW counties (/baʊ/)[1] are three counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin: Brown, Outagamie, and Winnebago.[2] The counties stretch from the western shore of Lake Winnebago down the Fox River to Green Bay. Cities in the BOW counties include Green Bay, De Pere, Appleton (part), Kaukauna (part), New London (part), Seymour, Neenah, Menasha (part), Omro, and Oshkosh. Also included is the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. The region overlaps with the Fox Cities but includes the more populous Brown County,[3] and not Calumet County.[4] The region also excludes the similarly sized Fond du Lac County as it is more solidly Republican and last voted for a Democrat for president in 1964.[5] The term has been in use since at least 2018,[6] but only started being used by mainstream sources in 2020.[7][3]
The area is one of the most purple (evenly divided) in the state,[8] and a key swing region.[9] These counties tend to be left-leaning compared to the more right-leaning WOW counties located near Milwaukee.[10] In the 2016 United States presidential election in Wisconsin, Donald Trump received the most votes for president in the BOW counties but with smaller margins than the WOW counties.[10] Trump had 52% of the vote in Brown County, 54% in Outagamie County and just over 50% in Winnebago County.[10] However, in 2020 it was one of 21 regions in the country identified that had an impact on Joe Biden's victory.[11] In addition to presidential elections, the region is watched in other elections, such as races for United States Senate[12] and Wisconsin Supreme Court.[2]
Election history
The presidential election results for the BOW counties for recent elections is as follows:
Total | Democratic votes | Democratic percentage | Republican votes | Republican percentage | Third party votes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 Total | 346,071 | 157,238 | 45.44% | 182,052 | 52.61% | 6,781 |
2020 Brown[13] | 144,017 | 65,511 | 45.49% | 75,871 | 52.68% | 2,635 |
2020 Outagamie[13] | 108,022 | 47,667 | 44.13% | 58,385 | 54.05% | 1,970 |
2020 Winnebago[13] | 94,032 | 44,060 | 46.86% | 47,796 | 50.83% | 2,176 |
2016 Total | 310,079 | 128,497 | 41.44% | 160,534 | 51.77% | 19,697 |
2016 Brown[14] | 129,011 | 53,382 | 41.38% | 67,210 | 52.10% | 7,944 |
2016 Outagamie[14] | 93,933 | 38,068 | 40.53% | 49,879 | 53.10% | 5,506 |
2016 Winnebago[14] | 87,135 | 37,047 | 42.52% | 43,445 | 49.86% | 6,247 |
2012 Total | 312,697 | 153,634 | 49.13% | 154,330 | 49.35% | 4,733 |
2012 Brown[15] | 128,928 | 62,526 | 48.50% | 64,836 | 50.29% | 1,566 |
2012 Outagamie[15] | 94,596 | 45,659 | 48.27% | 47,372 | 50.08% | 1,565 |
2012 Winnebago[15] | 89,173 | 45,449 | 50.97% | 42,122 | 47.24% | 1,602 |
2008 Total | 303,994 | 165,730 | 54.52% | 133,477 | 43.91% | 4,609 |
2008 Brown[16] | 124,754 | 67,269 | 53.92% | 55,854 | 44.77% | 1,631 |
2008 Outagamie[16] | 91,563 | 50,294 | 54.93% | 39,677 | 43.33% | 1,414 |
2008 Winnebago[16] | 87,677 | 48,167 | 54.94% | 37,946 | 43.28% | 1,564 |
2004 Total | 301,940 | 136,047 | 45.06% | 162,618 | 53.86% | 3,275 |
2004 Brown[17] | 123,294 | 54,935 | 44.56% | 67,173 | 54.48% | 1,186 |
2004 Outagamie[17] | 90,050 | 40,169 | 44.61% | 48,903 | 54.31% | 978 |
2004 Winnebago[17] | 88,596 | 40,943 | 46.21% | 46,542 | 52.53% | 1,111 |
2000 Total | 259,591 | 115,814 | 44.61% | 132,048 | 50.87% | 11,729 |
2000 Brown[18] | 107,769 | 49,096 | 45.56% | 54,258 | 50.35% | 4,415 |
2000 Outagamie[18] | 75,742 | 32,735 | 43.22% | 39,460 | 52.10% | 3,547 |
2000 Winnebago[18] | 76,080 | 33,983 | 44.67% | 38,330 | 50.38% | 3,767 |
1996 Total | ||||||
1996 Brown[19] | 47.1% | 42.5% | ||||
1996 Outagamie[19] | 44.4% | 42.8% | ||||
1996 Winnebago[19] | 45.3% | 42.7% |
References
- ↑ Dairy Busines Association (Nov 11, 2022). "Voters have spoken. What does that mean for the upcoming legislative session?". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- 1 2 Denzin, Nathan (April 6, 2023). "Wisconsin's recent blue-red voting trends solidify in spring 2023 election". PBS Wisconsin. Archived from the original on 11 June 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
She carried Brown and Outagamie counties by four and two points respectively, as well as Winnebago County, which leans more liberal than the other two "BOW counties".
- 1 2 Reilly, Briana (October 28, 2020). "This is What a Battleground Looks Like". The Capital Times. Madison, WI. p. 21. Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
Four years ago, Trump carried the 15-county area by 18 percentage points, including wins in the three most populous counties there, which some refer to as the "BOW" counties. He won by 11 points in Brown, 13 points in Outagamie and 7 points in Winnebago
- ↑ "Communities". Fox Cities. Fox Cities CVB. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ↑ Leip, Dave. "1964 Presidential General Election Results - Wisconsin". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ↑ moonraker717 (15 August 2018). "Dem vs Gop County map from last nights election". Reddit. Archived from the original on 12 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
but the key things are how close BOW (Brown, Outagamie, Winnebago) counties are (basically 50/50)
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ Gilbert, Craig (April 19, 2020). "Dems' dream election map will be hard to replicate". The Oshkosh Northwestern. pp. 1A, 3A, 4A. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Rodas, Jorge (August 20, 2020). "Wisconsin 'Bow' Counties Weigh In On DNC". Spectrum News 1. Green Bay, Wis. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ↑ Dempsey, Sadie; Suk, Jiyoun; Cramer, Katherine J.; Friedland, Lewis A.; Wagner, Michael W.; Shah, Dhavan V. (2020). Caughey, Devin; Hopkins, David (eds.). "Understanding Trump Supporters' News Use: Beyond the Fox News Bubble". The Forum. 18 (3): 324. doi:10.1515/for-2020-2012. ISSN 1540-8884. S2CID 231955817. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
Gary lives in the Fox Valley, a region in northeast Wisconsin with a declining industrial sector and home to the BOW counties (Brown, Outagamie, and Winnebago) which are considered a key political battleground region in the state.
- 1 2 3 Yount, Benjamin (Nov 2, 2020). "WOW counties, BOW counties areas to watch on Election Day in Wisconsin". The Center Square. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ↑ Mahtesian, Charlie (8 November 2020). "How Biden won his map". Politico. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ↑ Kirkwood, Chris. "Wisconsin Senatorial". Chris Kirkwood Maps. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
Brown, Outagamie, and Winnebago counties (the BOW Counties) sit along the Fox River in northeast Wisconsin, and frequently lean Republican. Senator Baldwin won all of them in her 2018 re-election, which indicated a massive win (10 or so points). Her 3 point margin in the BOW Counties came primarily from its larger cities, namely Green Bay, Appleton, and Oshkosh
- 1 2 3 "WEC Canvass Reporting System County by County Report 2020 General Election" (PDF). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 30, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- 1 2 3 "WEC Canvass Reporting System County by County Report 2016 General Election" (PDF). Wisconsin Elections Commission. 13 December 2016. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- 1 2 3 "2012 PRESIDENTIAL AND GENERAL ELECTION" (PDF). Wisconsin Historical Society. Archived from the original on 12 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- 1 2 3 "Wisconsin State Elections Board Canvass Summary Fall General Election – 11/04/200" (PDF). Wisconsin Historical Society. 25 November 2008. p. 4. Archived from the original on 12 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- 1 2 3 "Wisconsin State Elections Board Canvass Summary Fall General Election – 11/02/200". Wisconsin Historical Society. 1 December 2004. p. 4. Archived from the original on 12 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- 1 2 3 "2000-11-07_Presidential_County_Returns" (PDF). Wisconsin Historical Society. 10 May 2001. Archived from the original on 12 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- 1 2 3 Leip, David. "1996 Presidential General Election Data Graphs – Wisconsin". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2023.