MEQUON, Wis. — Protesters gathered along Interstate 43 overpasses in Ozaukee County Thursday evening, signaling what researchers say is a continuing political shift in the traditionally Republican suburban area.
More than 200 people lined several overpasses across the county in what they called "18 Miles of Ozaukee Outrage." It was one of many such protests Thursday in honor of the late Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis.
Watch: Highway protests against Trump administration underscore Ozaukee's gradual shift toward the center
Protestors in Ozaukee demonstrated against the Trump administration, its immigration policies and what they describe as executive overreach.
"We don't accept the way things are and the way things are going," said Joe Colacino, a Bayside resident who joined the protest. "We care about people. We care about human rights... As long as we're out here getting the message to some people, we'll make some people think."
The protests reflect a broader political transformation occurring in Ozaukee County, which has moved more than 10 percentage points to the left in presidential races since 2000, according to a Marquette University analysis of county voting numbers.
"It's the one that's shifted the most and is the closest to maybe even going blue by the end of the decade," said John Johnson, research fellow at Marquette University's Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education.
Johnson's research indicates the shift isn't necessarily due to an increase in Democratic voters, but rather changing preferences among Republicans in the area.
"The kinds of Republicans they have historically preferred aren't winning the primaries anymore," Johnson said.
This trend mirrors national patterns in communities with higher income and education levels.
Some participants, like Port Washington resident John Reida, expressed frustration with partisan divisions.
"I don't like the whole left-right thing," Reida said. "If there was a third party that was in the middle, I think that the majority of the country would support it."
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