Sen. Warren, Gov. Youngkin campaign in Wisconsin
MADISON Wis. (CBS 58) -- With early voting underway in the battleground state, both parties held dueling rallies in the Democratic stronghold of Madison and in Waukesha, a Republican-leaning suburb of Milwaukee.
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) held an event on the UW-Madison campus to campaign on behalf of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul. At the same time, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia held a rally for GOP governor candidate Tim Michels in Waukesha.
The dueling visits highlight how both parties are bringing reinforcements in parts of the state they rely on heavily to win statewide elections.
In Madison, Democrats focused their event on early voting in an attempt to mobilize students to the polls.
"This is a big fight. This is a monumental fight for the future of Wisconsin,” Warren said to a crowd of students in a lecture hall on campus. “When there is this much at stake. We can whimper. We can whine. Or we can fight back. I'm in this to fight back.”
During the 2018 election cycle, young and non-white voters were an essential group that helped Democrats win across the board for every statewide office. But those voters this year appear to be less eager to participate, according to polling.
The Marquette University Law School Poll found 48% of voters under the age of 30 were "very enthusiastic" about voting in 2018, compared to only 38% this year.
“We have to have you vote,” Evers said. “This is such an important race.”
On the first day of in-person voting 33,644 Wisconsinites cast a ballot, according to Tuesday's data by the Wisconsin Elections Commission. More than 5,000 of those ballots were cast in Milwaukee County.
Youngkin Stumps for Michels
In a series of campaign stops for Republican candidates across the county, Gov. Youngkin visited Waukesha on Wednesday to drive up turnout.
"In these last 13 days, a race they thought was safe is not because [Michels] is going to win and they are going to bring everything they got against him," Youngkin said.
Youngkin rose to national attention after defeating Democrat Terry McAuliffe last November in a state that gravitated towards Republicans after President Joe Biden won by 10 points in 2020.
The Virginia Republican primary campaign on Covid-19 restrictions and K-12 education, two issues Michels has focused on in his gubernatorial bid against Gov. Evers.
Michels has criticized his opponent for issuing a 'stay at home' order that shutdown essential businesses and schools during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. If elected, Michels has vowed to keep schools open and sign legislation to give parents more control over what's taught in the classroom.
Michels slammed Evers, who's the former state superintendent of schools, after Wisconsin once again ranked dead last for the widest test score gaps between Black and white students of any state.
"The education numbers continue to go down," Michels said. "This is all under Tony Evers' leadership and he's been an education leader his entire life. If he can't do education, I maintain he can't do anything well and it's time to fire him as governor."
Youngkin's trip to Waukesha highlights how the party is aiming to secure the WOW counties, Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington, a crucial demographic of voters that Republicans typically need to win in order to be successful in statewide races.