In the closing days of the election race, prominent Democrats and Republicans are traveling to Wisconsin for last-minute campaigning.
Over a thousand people attended a rally for Sen. Tammy Baldwin headlined by former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday. Biden is one of many politicians visiting the state in recent days, along with appearances last week by President Donald Trump in Mosinee and former President Barack Obama in Milwaukee.
As a battleground state, the gubernatorial and senate races in Wisconsin are drawing significant attention at the national level. Incumbent Gov. Scott Walker is facing off against state Superintendent Tony Evers and Sen. Tammy Baldwin is running for re-election against state Sen. Leah Vukmir.
“In a state like Wisconsin, very much a swing state but one with very political bases that are very animated on both sides,” said Mike Memoli, national political correspondent at NBC News. “It might come down, and we always say this is a bit of cliché, but it really will come down to turn out.”
Voter turnout was the theme of Biden’s campus spot, telling the UW-Madison students making up the majority of attendance that if voters their age turned out at the same rate as older voters, there would have been 5 million more votes in the 2016 election.
“What you heard from Joe Biden today and what you heard from President Obama last week are prominent Democrats saying this is important, we need to win this state back to help keep our party on a path toward coming back to power ourselves,” Memoli said.
Republicans are echoing this sentiment by pouring money into the Badger state. In the past month, Gov. Walker has raised $7.7 million while Evers is slightly behind at $6 million.
In Wisconsin, the question remains whether Democrats can mobilize college and young voters to go to the polls for Evers or whether Walker can repeat his strong Republican turnout in urban and rural districts.
A recent Marquette poll has Walker and Evers in a tight race, while Baldwin has a significant lead over Vukmir.
For the Badger Report, I’m Jon Sklar.