Aug. 17, 2025 8:20p; Edited at 8:40p
(WGTD)---The Kenosha County Democratic Party plans to return to next year's edition of the Kenosha County Fair despite a case of vandalism at this year's fair, according to the party's chair.
Lori Hawkins says someone plastered numerous Trump stickers over displays at the party's booth in the Merchants Building. The vandalism apparently occurred during a security lapse after the building closed for the evening on Thursday. The incident was discovered by the volunteers who showed up Friday morning. Damage was minimal, although some photos of elected officials had to be replaced.
The prime suspect appears to be a high school-aged boy who caused trouble at the booth last year when he tried to affix stickers, then returned this year with a couple of friends and made another attempt. "He remembered me from last year and he remembered that I called him out for putting stickers on our booth so he didn't want to talk to me," Hawkins said. "He called me a foul name," she said.
Hawkins continued, "He ended up having a good conversation with one of our other volunteers. I was glad to see that he found somebody he could identify with enough to have a conversation."
What happened this year was mild compared to last year when some of the discourse, as the presidential campaign was heating up, in her opinion, rose to the level of harassment. In addition, one worker was spit on, she said.
Still, Hawkins says she believes it's important for Democrats to have a presence at the fair. "It's important not only for people who support Democrats but for people who aren't sure and want to talk about the issues and are willing to talk to people with different views from them and maybe learn something," she said. "We're not abdicating any space at all. We need to be everywhere."
A volunteer at the Kenosha County Republican Party booth--located on the opposite side of the building--said to her knowledge no incidents occurred this year at the GOP table.
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