Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A Democratic sweep?

Tony Evers raises the possibilit­y as both parties campaign in Paul Ryan’s district.

- Bill Glauber

BURLINGTON – Republican Gov. Scott Walker didn’t sugarcoat polls that show him down while his rival, Tony Evers, talked about the possibilit­y of a Democratic sweep in the Nov. 6 election.

The two men made their pronouncem­ents Sunday while trying to fire up their respective party activists in the heart of the 1st Congressio­nal District in separate events sandwiched around a televised Green Bay Packers game.

In Burlington, Walker didn’t shy away from a recent Marquette University Law School Poll that showed him trailing Democrat Evers by 5 points.

Walker said he didn’t believe Marquette’s poll was wrong at a similar stage of the 2016 campaign when it showed Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson trailing Democrat Russ Feingold, and it’s not wrong now. Johnson went on to win in 2016 and Walker said Republican­s can win this year.

“What changed was not that the poll was wrong; what changed is that we did something about it,” Walker said.

“We need to remember what we did two years ago and work harder.”

At a rally in a campaign office in downtown Racine, Evers told supporters, “We have an opportunit­y for a clean sweep this November.”

But Evers said plenty of hard work lies ahead and said: “We talk about polls. I can tell you that polls today show us way up and show us way down. Bottom line is if we’re going to have this campaign about values we

need your help.”

Up and down the ballot, the stakes are great in a district that in 2016 went to retiring House Speaker Paul Ryan by 35 points and President Donald Trump by 10.

This is a district where Republican­s enjoy a sizable advantage in the partisan makeup of its voters but not an overwhelmi­ng advantage.

Bryan Steil is trying to hold the House seat for Republican­s while Randy Bryce is seeking to flip the seat for Democrats.

A GOP rally in the morning drew around three dozen activists and featured Walker, Attorney General Brad Schimel, U.S. Senate candidate Leah Vukmir, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Steil and candidates Travis Hartwig for treasurer and Jay Schroeder for secretary of state.

In the afternoon, dozens of Democrats filled a campaign office to listen to Evers, lieutenant governor candidate Mandela Barnes, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, attorney general candidate Josh Kaul, Bryce and Sarah Godlewski, who is running for treasurer.

“We know this is one of the most important places in the state to turn out the vote,” Vos told Republican­s.

Vukmir, a state senator from Brookfield, said the party has been “galvanized by everything we have gone through the last eight years.”

“We know how to do elections,” she said.

She sought to portray Baldwin as an insider, even joking that the first-term senator was probably wearing a Washington Redskins jersey.

“Tammy Baldwin doesn’t stand for Wisconsin values, American values,” Vukmir said, adding that Baldwin backs the “Medicare-for-all” proposal of independen­t U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

In Racine, Baldwin wore a greenand-gold Packers fleece and told reporters: “Health care and people’s access to insurance and medication­s they can afford is on the ballot.”

Baldwin pointed to the fight last year when Democrats beat back an attempt by Republican­s to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. She said Wisconsini­tes “saw Republican­s go after their health care protection­s. They became involved. I never saw the activism and organizing like I did last year around something that is deeply personal, health care.”

She said people are now “supporting candidates who are their champions and opposing candidates who have been their obstacles or are proposing harmful things.”

 ?? JOURNAL SENTINEL FILES ?? Top, from left: Scott Walker, Tony Evers. Bottom, from left: Leah Vukmir, Tammy Baldwin.
JOURNAL SENTINEL FILES Top, from left: Scott Walker, Tony Evers. Bottom, from left: Leah Vukmir, Tammy Baldwin.

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