Candidates make final push in state
Cruz, Sanders leading polls over party front-runners
Wisconsin’s presidential primary dash ended Monday night with a pileup of candidates in the Milwaukee area.
Ted Cruz reveled in the warm embrace of the state’s Republican establishment at a rally in Waukesha, while the man they all aim to derail, GOP front-runner Donald Trump, raced from La Crosse to Superior to the Milwaukee Theatre in a lastditch bid to overcome one of the worst stretches of his political career.
Across the street from Trump, at the Wisconsin Center, Democrat Bernie Sanders tried to stoke supporters for a victory over Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Clinton, campaigning in New York ahead of the delegate-rich state’s April 19 primary, sent former President Bill Clinton to speak at Turner Hall Ballroom.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a thorn in the side of Cruz and Trump, was also in New York. But his presence in Wisconsin was still felt, with the Cruz campaign chastising him in a campaign ad and mailers. Trump and Cruz have called for Kasich to leave the race, a suggestion that Kasich immediately rejected.
An array of polls show Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, leading among Republicans, and Sanders, an independent U.S. senator from Vermont, leading among Democrats. Republicans are battling for 42 delegates, while 86 elected delegates and 10 superdelegates are at stake for Democrats.
At the Waukesha County Exposition Center, Cruz was introduced by Gov. Scott Walker, who told the crowd the Wisconsin primary would “turn the tide for a Cruz presidency.”
Cruz drew standing ovations as he sought to distinguish himself from Trump and Clinton. He took aim at Trump, saying he would compromise on the Constitution, and Clinton, suggesting she was headed for a jail cell for her handling of classified material while U.S. secretary of state.
“A victory here tomorrow will resonate across this country,” said Cruz, who warned that nominating Trump would be “a disaster.”
If Trump secures the nomination, “Hillary wins by double digits. And it will be like tying up a giant present and giving it to the Democrats,” Cruz told the crowd.
Earlier in Madison, Cruz said that the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1973 abortion decision should be overturned, and that states should be able to ban abortion even in cases of rape and incest.
In a town hall meeting moderated by Fox News host Megyn Kelly, Cruz said the high court’s decision in Roe vs. Wade should not be considered settled law. “I think it was a classic example of (judicial) activism,” Cruz said.
States should be free to prohibit abortion in all cases, including rape and incest, said Cruz, who noted that he had been involved on such issues while serving as solicitor general under the Texas attorney general.
“Rape is a horrific crime against the humanity of a person . . . but at the same time as horrible as that crime is, I don't think it’s the child’s fault,” Cruz said.
Trump came to the Milwaukee Theatre trying to steady his campaign after a tough time in Wisconsin.
Over eight days, the billionaire businessman from New York ran into a wall of opposition on local talk radio, criticized Walker at a Janesville rally and sparked a storm of criticism for remarks on abortion during an MSNBC town hall event in Green Bay. Polls showed his favorability ratings tanked, especially among women voters.
Trump’s wife, Melania, made a rare campaign appearance Monday. She told the audience that filled the theater’s lower orchestra section that her husband is a “hard worker, he’s kind, he has a great heart, he’s tough, he’s smart, he’s a great communicator, he’s a great negotiator, he’s telling the truth, he’s a great leader, he’s fair.”
In her biggest applause line, she said: “As you know by now, when you attack him, he will punch back 10 times harder.
“No matter who you are, a man or a woman, he treats everyone equal,” she added. “He's a fighter and if you elect him to be your president, he will fight for you and for our country.”
Trump said the country is being “decimated by stupidity, bad deals, horrible trades.” He lit into Cruz for supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. And he again criticized Kasich for staying in the race, despite winning only one primary, in his home state of Ohio.
“I think we close it out before the convention,” Trump said of the nomination. Like a prizefighter who goes into unfriendly territory, Trump said “when you knock ’em out, there’s no unfriendly decisions. If we get the delegates, we pull (off) the knockout.”
Trump, who has campaigned steadily in Wisconsin, indicated he would be in Milwaukee on Tuesday and said, “We are making so much progress, and it is so inspiring to see the people.”
At the Wisconsin Center, Sanders implored his supporters to get to the polls to give him a win over Clinton.
“If we win here tomorrow, it will be a major step forward in this campaign,” Sanders said at the conclusion of a 57-minute speech at a rally that was his last in the state.
His voice hoarse and worsening as the night wore on, Sanders delivered his message of economic populism.
Supporters chanted “Bernie, Bernie, Bernie” as Sanders decried a “rigged economy” that he said has produced an ever-growing divide between the middle class and the top 1%.
He fired shots at Wall Street and the oil industry, a “corrupt” campaign system and the Republican Party’s efforts to change voting laws, which he said amounted to voter suppression.
As he has in other stops, Sanders capitalized on anti-Walker sentiment among Democrats and lambasted the governor for attacking unions and lowering the taxes of corporations.
“And when you have governors like Governor Walker who are working overtime trying to figure out ways to keep people from voting because those people might vote against them, that is cowardice, that is un-American,” Sanders said, drawing a large cheer.
Sanders spent little time taking on Clinton or Trump. But instead he addressed the aspirations of African-Americans, Hispanics, the elderly and especially, young people. He called for a $15 an hour minimum wage, free tuition at public universities and reforming marijuana laws.
“Young people are the future of this nation and they want to help change the future of the nation,” Sanders said.
At Turner Hall, Bill Clinton asked supporters to carry Hillary Clinton to the White House as the only candidate with a realistic vision for helping all Americans “rise together.”
“She’d be the best president. She’s always been a change-maker. And she’s always been a leader,” he said.
“This is not about new vs. old or establishment vs. reform,” he added, ticking off a long list of individuals and organizations that have supported the former New York senator and secretary of state. “They’re in the change business, and they know she’s always been there.”
Former Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, a Clinton supporter, entered the political fray Monday when he criticized Sanders for voting to ban human cloning, saying that the stance could have endangered vital stem cell research here.
Doyle said that in 2003, Sanders had voted for federal legislation similar to a cloning ban that Doyle vetoed in 2005. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Sanders co-sponsored similar legislation in 2005.
“Had Senator Sanders won the day with his refusal to support and invest in stem cell research, Americans would have lost access to a new frontier of medicine that could one day cure Alzheimer’s, ALS, and other fatal diseases,” Doyle said in a statement from the Clinton campaign.
Sanders’ campaign policy director Warren Gunnels said Sanders backed legislation in 2006 to lift federal funding limits on embryonic stem cell research.
Gunnels said: “This outrageous smear on Sen. Sanders’ record shows just how nervous the Clinton campaign is becoming. The fact is Bernie strongly supports stem cell research, including research on embryonic stem cells.”