The counties ringing Milwaukee County to the west and north are so important in political circles that they have a nickname you probably heard a lot during Election Night coverage: the WOW counties.
Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties were a predictable Republican bastion in the election that ended this week with Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes swinging back to Democrats after Republican Donald Trump won them and the White House in 2016.
But there are signs of cracks in the GOP stronghold – or at least weakness for Trump.
The biggest story in the WOW counties, as across the electoral landscape, is an enormous surge in turnout. More than 41,000 more ballots were cast in 2020 than 2016, a gain of nearly 11%.
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Both Trump and the Democratic candidates increased their totals. Trump gained about 29,000 votes, and Biden received about 37,000 more votes than Hillary Clinton did in 2016.
That’s obviously a lot more than 41,000 new votes, and the rest came from a sharp decrease in third-party, independent and write-in candidates. Those folks won nearly 24,000 votes in 2016 – 6.5% of all cast in the WOW counties – but this cycle, fewer than 6,900 ballots were cast outside the Republican or Democratic parties. While both parties gained ballots, Trump’s share of the total WOW vote slipped slightly, from 60.9% to 60.7%.
Waukesha County remained Wisconsin’s biggest source of Republican votes, dwarfing the total vote of the other two WOW counties, though Trump’s vote share slipped 0.4 points there. Ozaukee County also slipped in share, 0.6 points, while Washington County remained the most uniformly red of the WOW counties, with Trump gaining nearly a point in share, from 67.4% in 2016 to 68.3% this year.
The Democratic gains were greatest in the more, um, suburban suburbs and discrete cities – as opposed to the counties’ exurbs and rural areas. Biden’s largest gain in the WOW counties was in the city of Brookfield, where he added 8 points over Clinton’s share. Biden gains of 4-6 points were more common in the WOW burbs, and those in rural areas and the southwestern part of the metro area were smaller.
Driving home just how broad the Republican grasp is on the WOW counties, only one municipality entirely within the WOW counties went Democratic this year, and it flipped to blue in doing so. That was Ozaukee County’s city of Cedarburg, where Biden won by just 19 votes out of more than 8,000 cast. Trump won Cedarburg by 8.5 points in 2016.
Following are the presidential vote tallies for every municipality in the WOW counties in 2016 (certified, recounted figures) and 2020 (preliminary figures released Wednesday).
Oh, and we listed the counties in order of vote totals and perhaps planting the seed that they will be henceforth known as the WWO (pronounced “whoa!”) counties.
RELATED: COMPARING HOW THE CITY AND EVERY MILWAUKEE SUBURB VOTED IN 2016 AND 2020
Waukesha County
County Totals
2020: Trump 159,633 (59.6%), Biden 103,867 (38.8%), others 1.7%; total votes: 267,957
2016: Trump 142,543 (60.0%), Clinton 79,224 (33.3%), others 6.7%; total votes: 237,593
City of Brookfield
2020: Trump 14,799 (53.5%), Biden 12,434 (45.0%), others 1.5%; total votes: 27,649
2016: Trump 13,970 (56.5%), Clinton 9,144 (37.0%), others 6.6%; total votes: 24,741
City of Delafield
2020: Trump 2,970 (58.8%), Biden 1,990 (39.4%), others 1.9%; total votes: 5,054
2016: Trump 2,623 (59.4%), Clinton 1,494 (33.8%), others 6.8%; total votes: 4,417
City of Muskego
2020: Trump 11,400 (66.3%), Biden 5,576 (32.4%), others 1.3%; total votes: 17,206
2016: Trump 9,995 (65.4%), Clinton 4,412 (28.9%), others 5.8%; total votes: 15,287
City of New Berlin
2020: Trump 15,994 (57.5%), Biden 11,350 (40.8%), others 1.6%; total votes: 27,799
2016: Trump 14,439 (57.9%), Clinton 8,868 (35.6%), others 6.5%; total votes: 24,925
City of Oconomowoc
2020: Trump 6,929 (59.2%), Biden 4,563 (39.0%), others 1.9%; total votes: 11,709
2016: Trump 5,835 (60.1%), Clinton 3,222 (33.2%), others 6.8%; total votes: 9,713
City of Pewaukee
2020: Trump 6,662 (62.5%), Biden 3,837 (36.0%), others 1.5%; total votes: 10,656
2016: Trump 5,925 (63.1%), Clinton 2,874 (30.6%), others 6.2%; total votes: 9,383
City of Waukesha
2020: Trump 20,245 (51.6%), Biden 18,128 (46.2%), others 2.1%; total votes: 39,213
2016: Trump 18,246 (51.1%), Clinton 14,577 (40.8%), others 8.1%; total votes: 35,717
Village of Big Bend
2020: Trump 682 (71.1%), Biden 263 (27.4%), others 1.5%; total votes: 959
2016: Trump 540 (70.7%), Clinton 180 (23.6%), others 5.8%; total votes: 764
Village of Butler
2020: Trump 588 (56.6%), Biden 423 (40.7%), others 2.7%; total votes: 1,039
2016: Trump 560 (58.3%), Clinton 323 (33.6%), others 8.1%; total votes: 961
Village of Chenequa
2020: Trump 281 (70.0%), Biden 120 (29.9%), others 0.0%; total votes: 401
2016: Trump 250 (72.9%), Clinton 70 (20.4%), others 6.7%; total votes: 343
Village of Dousman
2020: Trump 941 (64.0%), Biden 512 (34.9%), others 1.1%; total votes: 1,469
2016: Trump 852 (65.3%), Clinton 371 (28.4%), others 6.3%; total votes: 1,305
Village of Eagle
2020: Trump 1,023 (73.6%), Biden 334 (24.0%), others 2.4%; total votes: 1,390
2016: Trump 812 (71.7%), Clinton 240 (21.2%), others 7.1%; total votes: 1,132
Village of Elm Grove
2020: Trump 2,323 (50.5%), Biden 2,188 (47.6%), others 1.9%; total votes: 4,599
2016: Trump 2,285 (53.4%), Clinton 1,706 (39.9%), others 6.7%; total votes: 4,277
Village of Hartland
2020: Trump 3,528 (58.9%), Biden 2,342 (39.1%), others 2.0%; total votes: 5,989
2016: Trump 3,231 (61.0%), Clinton 1,676 (31.7%), others 7.3%; total votes: 5,294
Village of Lac La Belle
2020: Trump 157 (64.0%), Biden 83 (33.9%), others 2.0%; total votes: 245
2016: Trump 133 (65.5%), Clinton 57 (28.1%), others 6.4%; total votes: 203
Village of Lannon
2020: Trump 540 (61.5%), Biden 330 (37.6%), others 0.8%; total votes: 877
2016: Trump 452 (63.2%), Clinton 225 (31.5%), others 5.3%; total votes: 715
Village of Menomonee Falls
2020: Trump 13,879 (54.6%), Biden 11,075 (43.6%), others 1.9%; total votes: 25,428
2016: Trump 12,614 (56.4%), Clinton 8,227 (36.8%), others 6.8%; total votes: 22,373
Village of Merton
2020: Trump 1,587 (69.8%), Biden 645 (28.4%), others 1.8%; total votes: 2,274
2016: Trump 1,404 (72.1%), Clinton 429 (22.0%), others 5.9%; total votes: 1,948
Village of Mukwonago
2020: Trump 3,122 (64.1%), Biden 1,651 (33.9%), others 1.9%; total votes: 4,867
2016: Trump 2,667 (63.3%), Clinton 1,255 (29.8%), others 6.9%; total votes: 4,211
Village of Nashotah
2020: Trump 620 (63.3%), Biden 348 (35.5%), others 1.1%; total votes: 979
2016: Trump 583 (67.2%), Clinton 238 (27.4%), others 5.4%; total votes: 868
Village of North Prairie
2020: Trump 1,072 (70.1%), Biden 437 (28.6%), others 1.4%; total votes: 1,530
2016: Trump 917 (69.7%), Clinton 325 (24.7%), others 5.6%; total votes: 1,316
Village of Oconomowoc Lake
2020: Trump 323 (72.9%), Biden 111 (25.1%), others 2.0%; total votes: 443
2016: Trump 252 (71.2%), Clinton 82 (23.2%), others 5.6%; total votes: 354
Village of Pewaukee
2020: Trump 2,990 (58.1%), Biden 2,086 (40.5%), others 1.4%; total votes: 5,149
2016: Trump 2,708 (58.8%), Clinton 1,583 (34.4%), others 6.9%; total votes: 4,608
Village of Summit
2020: Trump 2,268 (63.1%), Biden 1,269 (35.3%), others 1.5%; total votes: 3,592
2016: Trump 1,908 (63.6%), Clinton 891 (29.7%), others 6.7%; total votes: 3,000
Village of Sussex
2020: Trump 4,422 (60.5%), Biden 2,780 (38.0%), others 1.5%; total votes: 7,308
2016: Trump 3,838 (61.6%), Clinton 1,990 (31.9%), others 6.5%; total votes: 6,232
Village of Vernon
2020: Trump 3,935 (71.9%), Biden 1,464 (26.8%), others 1.3%; total votes: 5,472
2016: Trump 3,447 (68.9%), Clinton 1,298 (25.9%), others 5.2%; total votes: 5,005
Village of Wales
2020: Trump 1,227 (61.7%), Biden 720 (36.2%), others 2.0%; total votes: 1,987
2016: Trump 1,090 (62.6%), Clinton 547 (31.4%), others 6.0%; total votes: 1,742
Village of Waukesha
2020: Trump 3,938 (64.5%), Biden 2,082 (34.1%), others 1.3%; total votes: 6,102
2016: Trump 3,537 (63.8%), Clinton 1,656 (29.9%), others 6.3%; total votes: 5,541
Town of Brookfield
2020: Trump 2,580 (55.8%), Biden 1,979 (42.8%), others 1.4%; total votes: 4,626
2016: Trump 2,267 (57.1%), Clinton 1,476 (37.2%), others 5.7%; total votes: 3,968
Town of Delafield
2020: Trump 3,917 (64.4%), Biden 2,065 (34.0%), others 1.6%; total votes: 6,078
2016: Trump 3,398 (64.5%), Clinton 1,512 (28.7%), others 6.8%; total votes: 5,271
Town of Eagle
2020: 1,773 (70.1%), Biden 720 (28.5%), others 1.4%; total votes: 2,529
2016: Trump 1,496 (68.0%), Clinton 564 (25.6%), others 6.3%; total votes: 2,199
Town of Genesee
2020: Trump 3,617 (67.3%), Biden 1,693 (31.5%), others 1.2%; total votes: 5,377
2016: Trump 3,206 (66.0%), Clinton 1,314 (27.1%), others 6.9%; total votes: 4,857
Town of Lisbon
2020: Trump 5,013 (68.4%), Biden 2,227 (30.4%), others 1.3%; total votes: 7,333
2016: Trump 4,378 (66.9%), Clinton 1,755 (26.8%), others 6.3%; total votes: 6,543
Town of Merton
2020: Trump 4,288 (69.9%), Biden 1,777 (29.0%), others 1.2%; total votes: 6,136
2016: Trump 3,776 (70.7%), Clinton 1,264 (23.7%), others 5.7%; total votes: 5,342
Town of Mukwonago
2020: Trump 3,805 (71.0%), Biden 1,457 (27.2%), others 1.8%; total votes: 5,360
2016: Trump 3,372 (69.2%), Clinton 1,207 (24.8%), others 6.0%; total votes: 4,871
Town of Oconomowoc
2020: Trump 4,340 (68.3%), Biden 1,935 (30.5%), others 1.2%; total votes: 6,353
2016: Trump 3,887 (68.6%), Clinton 1,483 (26.2%), others 5.2%; total votes: 5,667
Town of Ottawa
2020: Trump 1,855 (66.7%), Biden 873 (31.4%), others 1.9%; total votes: 2,780
2016: Trump 1,647 (66.0%), Clinton 689 (27.6%), others 6.4%; total votes: 2,497
Washington County
County Totals
2020: Trump 60,235 (68.3%), Biden 26,647 (30.2%), others 1.6%; total votes: 88,254
2016: Trump 51,740 (67.4%), Clinton 20,852 (27.2%), others 5.4%; total votes: 76,757
City of Hartford
2020: Trump 5,804 (65.1%), Biden 2,973 (33.3%), others 1.6%; total votes: 8,920
2016: Trump 4,539 (63.5%), Clinton 2,177 (30.4%), others 6.1%; total votes: 7,153
City of West Bend
2020: Trump 11,316 (62.3%), Biden 6,520 (35.9%), others 1.8%; total votes: 18,157
2016: Trump 9,847 (61.4%), Clinton 5,175 (32.3%), others 6.3%; total votes: 16,038
Village of Germantown
2020: Trump 8,275 (60.2%), Biden 5,203 (37.9%), others 1.9%; total votes: 13,736
2016: Trump 7,473 (61.8%), Clinton 3,879 (32.1%), others 6.2%; total votes: 12,096
Village of Jackson
2020: Trump 3,092 (68.5%), Biden 1,342 (29.7%), others 1.8%; total votes: 4,513
2016: Trump 2,635 (67.9%), Clinton 1,028 (26.5%), others 5.6%; total votes: 3,882
Village of Kewaskum
2020: Trump 1,875 (72.4%), Biden 676 (26.1%), others 1.5%; total votes: 2,591
2016: Trump 1,573 (69.8%), Clinton 559 (24.8%), others 5.5%; total votes: 2,255
Village of Newburg
(Washington County portion only)
2020: Trump 510 (75.1%), Biden 155 (22.8%), others 2.1%; total votes: 679
2016: Trump 466 (77.3%), Clinton 110 (18.2%), others 4.5%; total votes: 603
Village of Richfield
2020: Trump 6,208 (71.7%), Biden 2,348 (27.1%), others 1.1%; total votes: 8,654
2016: Trump 5,511 (72.0%), Clinton 1,817 (23.8%), others 4.2%; total votes: 7,649
Village of Slinger
2020: Trump 2,559 (70.5%), Biden 1,012 (27.9%), others 1.7%; total votes: 3,631
2016: Trump 1,986 (68.5%), Clinton 758 (26.1%), others 5.3%; total votes: 2,899
Town of Addison
2020: Trump 1,773 (77.5%), Biden 481 (21.0%), others 1.4%; total votes: 2,287
2016: Trump 1,548 (75.5%), Clinton 400 (19.5%), others 5.0%; total votes: 2,051
Town of Barton
2020: Trump 1,454 (73.3%), Biden 505 (25.4%), others 1.3%; total votes: 1,985
2016: Trump 1,211 (70.6%), Clinton 426 (24.8%), others 4.6%; total votes: 1,716
Town of Erin
2020: Trump 2,064 (72.9%), Biden 726 (25.7%), others 1.4%; total votes: 2,830
2016: Trump 1,795 (71.2%), Clinton 584 (23.2%), others 5.6%; total votes: 2,520
Town of Farmington
2020: Trump 1,967 (78.2%), Biden 523 (20.8%), others 1.0%; total votes: 2,516
2016: Trump 1,655 (75.4%), Clinton 465 (21.2%), others 3.4%; total votes: 2,195
Town of Germantown
2020: Trump 114 (63.0%), Biden 64 (35.4%), others 1.7%; total votes: 181
2016: Trump 103 (66.0%), Clinton 49 (31.4%), others 2.6%; total votes: 156
Town of Hartford
2020: Trump 1,874 (76.9%), Biden 535 (22.0%), others 1.1%; total votes: 2,436
2016: Trump 1,624 (73.0%), Clinton 498 (22.4%), others 4.6%; total votes: 2,224
Town of Jackson
2020: Trump 2,438 (75.7%), Biden 734 (22.8%), others 1.5%; total votes: 3,221
2016: Trump 2,125 (74.7%), Clinton 573 (20.1%), others 5.2%; total votes: 2,845
Town of Kewaskum
2020: Trump 624 (78.0%), Biden 167 (20.9%), others 1.1%; total votes: 800
2016: Trump 526 (74.9%), Clinton 145 (20.7%), others 4.4%; total votes: 702
Town of Polk
2020: Trump 2,185 (76.1%), Biden 650 (22.6%), others 1.3%; total votes: 2,872
2016: Trump 1,890 (74.7%), Clinton 531 (21.0%), others 4.3%; total votes: 2,529
Town of Trenton
2020: Trump 2,517 (75.4%), Biden 778 (23.3%), others 1.3%; total votes: 3,339
2016: Trump 2,127 (72.6%), Clinton 679 (23.2%), others 4.2%; total votes: 2,928
Town of Wayne
2020: Trump 1,206 (80.5%), Biden 279 (18.6%), others 0.9%; total votes: 1,499
2016: Trump 1,001 (77.4%), Clinton 241 (18.6%), others 4.0%; total votes: 1,294
Town of West Bend
2020: Trump 2,380 (69.8%), Biden 976 (28.6%), others 1.6%; total votes: 3,409
2016: Trump 2,105 (69.7%), Clinton 758 (25.1%), others 5.3%; total votes: 3,022
Ozaukee County
County Totals
2020: Trump 33,912 (55.2%), Biden 26,515 (43.2%), others 1.7%; total votes: 61,453
2016: Trump 30,464 (55.8%), Clinton 20,170 (37.0%), others 7.2%; total votes: 54,560
City of Cedarburg
2020: Biden 4,032 (49.2%), Trump 4,013 (49.0%), others 1.8%; total votes: 8,189
2016: Trump 3,618 (50.3%), Clinton 3,009 (41.8%), others 7.9%; total votes: 7,199
City of Mequon
2020: Trump 8,781 (50.2%), Biden 8,418 (48.2%), others 1.6%; total votes: 17,476
2016: Trump 8,165 (52.4%), Clinton 6,385 (40.9%), others 6.7%; total votes: 15,593
City of Port Washington
2020: Trump 3,909 (51.0%), Biden 3,606 (47.0%), others 2.0%; total votes: 7,668
2016: Trump 3,355 (51.1%), Clinton 2,692 (41.0%), others 7.8%; total votes: 6,561
Village of Bayside
(Portion in Ozaukee County; most residents live in Milwaukee County)
2020: Biden 59 (63.4%), Trump 33 (35.5%), others 1.1%; total votes: 93
2016: Clinton 46 (56.1%), Trump 28 (34.1%), others 9.8%; total votes: 82
Village of Belgium
2020: Trump 1,006 (70.1%), Biden 406 (28.3%), others 1.7%; total votes: 1,436
2016: Trump 826 (65.5%), Clinton 349 (27.7%), others 6.9%; total votes: 1,262
Village of Fredonia
2020: Trump 946 (68.2%), Biden 412 (29.7%), others 2.1%; total votes: 1,387
2016: Trump 828 (66.5%), Clinton 332 (26.6%), others 6.9%; total votes: 1,246
Village of Grafton
2020: Trump 4,404 (55.2%), Biden 3,442 (43.1%), others 1.7%; total votes: 7,978
2016: Trump 3,981 (56.3%), Clinton 2,581 (36.5%), others 7.2%; total votes: 7,068
Village of Newburg
(Portion in Ozaukee County; most village residents live in Washington County)
2020: Trump 46 (83.6%), Biden 9 (16.4%), others 0%; total votes: 55
2016: Trump 30 (63.8%), Clinton 8 (17.0%), others 19.1%; total votes: 47
Village of Saukville
2020: Trump 1,536 (61.3%), Biden 920 (36.7%), others 2.0%; total votes: 2,507
2016: Trump 1,371 (60.2%), Clinton 749 (32.9%), others 6.9%; total votes: 2,278
Village of Thiensville
2020: Trump 1,126 (50.0%), Biden 1,081 (48.0%), others 2.1%; total votes: 2,254
2016: Trump 1,023 (49.4%), Clinton 870 (42.0%), others 8.5%; total votes: 2,069
Town of Belgium
2020: Trump 664 (65.4%), Biden 335 (33.0%), others 1.6%; total votes: 1,015
2016: Trump 560 (61.6%), Clinton 273 (30.0%), others 8.4%; total votes: 909
Town of Cedarburg
2020: Trump 2,832 (62.3%), Biden 1,653 (36.4%), others 1.3%; total votes: 4,543
2016: Trump 2,543 (63.2%), Clinton 1,199 (29.8%), others 7.1%; total votes: 4,026
Town of Fredonia
2020: Trump 1,073 (77.8%), Biden 284 (20.6%), others 1.6%; total votes: 1,379
2016: Trump 929 (73.7%), Clinton 261 (20.7%), others 5.6%; total votes: 1,261
Town of Grafton
2020: Trump 1,935 (61.8%), Biden 1,149 (36.7%), others 1.4%; total votes: 3,129
2016: Trump 1,732 (61.6%), Clinton 876 (31.2%), others 7.2%; total votes: 2,811
Town of Port Washington
2020: Trump 675 (64.4%), Biden 359 (34.3%), others 1.3%; total votes: 1,048
2016: Trump 606 (63.5%), Clinton 282 (29.6%), others 6.9%; total votes: 954
Town of Saukville
2020: Trump 933 (72.0%), Biden 350 (27.0%), others 1.0%; total votes: 1,296
2016: Trump 869 (72.8%), Clinton 258 (21.6%), others 5.6%; total votes: 1,194
