SCHOFIELD, Wis. — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has a message for Republican voters who believe the 2018 election is in the bag and that they shouldn’t go to the polls in November: Stop being complacent.
For months, Walker, the two-term governor of the Badger State, has been sounding the alarm for voters to take the midterms seriously as he seeks a third term in office — a direct contrast with President Trump’s repeated claim that a “red wave” is in the offing. Walker, who is in the latest iteration of a fight for his political life against Democratic challenger Tony Evers, isn’t taking the idea face value as he worries about Republicans being at a massive disadvantage in November. He senses trouble.
“I warned people in January when there was this special election for the state Senate. I warned people in April on the [state] Supreme Court. I still even heard people today … saying ‘you’ve got no problem,’ because they figure we won three times,” Walker says during a stop at one of his campaign offices about two hours north of Madison.
“The state went for Ron Johnson, the president, the vice president two years ago. Everything else — the economy, the budget is balanced, the economy is good, more people working than ever before,” Walker says. “Unfortunately, I think a lot of our voters, and even some of our activists, still just take it for granted.”
The comments came hours after a Marquette poll was released showing Walker down by 5 points to Evers (49-44), the state superintendent of public schools, and trailing independents by a 20-point margin (52-32). Walker didn’t even need to be asked about the poll to bring it up.
“I think that’s for sure,” when asked if he senses complacency with voters. “The challenge is if people who volunteered before, say two, four, six years ago, particularly in our recall. If they’re not motivated to come in because we think we’ve got it in the bag, it doesn’t just affect your base. Those are the people that before would talk to their neighbors, would knock on doors, would get the message out. If they’re not getting the message out, all they’re hearing from is TV ads and attacks in the newspaper.”
Walker, however, is doing the majority of the messaging on TV, having outspent Evers since primary day over 3-1. However, the cavalry from the national Democratic ranks is coming in for Evers. Former Attorney General Eric Holder appeared in Milwaukee for an event centered on criminal justice. Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe was slated to appear on Wednesday for an event in Madison centered around healthcare, but was canceled abruptly due to a shooting in Madison.
Evers’ campaign is intent on driving home healthcare as the preeminent message ahead of election day. The two sides are continuously fighting over pre-existing conditions, largely due to Wisconsin’s involvement in a lawsuit trying to strike down the Affordable Care Act. Wisconsin is one of 20 states involved in the suit that claims that the repeal of the individual mandate penalty starting in 2019 means that the rest of the law should be deemed unconstitutional.
“Healthcare is on the ballot this November,” a source close to Evers’ campaign said.
Walker’s team remains upbeat despite the recent string of negative polls. According to allies of the governor, internal polls have consistently showed a margin-of-error race. Both sides expect a tight contest.
“We’re going to have a close race,” said Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis. “But it’s been close in every one of Scott Walker’s re-election bids or the recall bid, and Scott Walker always pulls it through … This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Left unhinged. We saw it at our state capitol when they took it over [in 2011].”
“The Left was pretty energized then. The question becomes how energized is the Right?” Duffy said.
Democrats continue to believe that turnout is going to help put Evers over the top despite what many in Wisconsin GOP always turn to — the Walker machine and the Republican Party of Wisconsin, both of which are considered in the top tier organizationally and in turning out the vote on the Right. On primary day, 85,000 more Democrats turned out to vote in the gubernatorial primary than Republicans who turned out to vote in the Senate primary despite most of the spending taking place in the latter race, and less than two months until Nov. 6, they know what a possible Walker loss means.
“We’re going to have a bad night,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said of the meaning. “He should be re-elected by acclamation. But this is Wisconsin. It’s a little bit harder to predict. My only concern is literally turnout — how ginned up, how enthusiastic the Left is.”
