Here & Now

Walker, Burke Make Final Pitch to Voters Before Nov. 4

Zac Schultz:

For the final week of the campaign, Governor Scott Walker is going big, first and foremost with his mode of transportation. There’s no missing this bus as it rolls up to a manufacturing facility in Middleton for his first stop on a busy day. After a quick tour, the governor addresses the handful of employees who gather to hear his stump speech.

Scott Walker:

I’m asking for your vote on November 4 because I don’t want to go backwards.

Zac Schultz:

It’s the first of more than a dozen events the governor is doing across the state, a schedule he compares to Democrat Mary Burke’s travel plans.

Scott Walker:

It’s a stark contrast. She’s got two events with Washington surrogates in Milwaukee. I, on the other hand, am all over the state, spent a lot of time over the weekend in the Fox Valley where votes are very competitive.

Zac Schultz:

Walker’s next stop was in Mayville, at another manufacturing plant. Most of his speech focuses on tax cuts and job growth, and while he refuses to use Mary Burke’s name on the campaign trail, he talks about her a lot.

Scott Walker:

You see, I’m running for real Wisconsin. You watch those ads, you can see, my opponent's running against me. I'm running for you, I’m running for the people of Wisconsin.

Crowd:

Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary!

Zac Schultz:

The contrast between events is almost as large as the contrast between candidates.

Mary Burke:

Well, hello Milwaukee!

Zac Schultz:

On Tuesday, Mary Burke was in Milwaukee, saying Scott Walker’s name over and over.

Mary Burke:

And Governor Walker, he just doesn’t get it.

Zac Schultz:

But Burke was just the warmup. This crowd was here for President Barack Obama.

Barack Obama:

Hey, Milwaukee!

Zac Schultz:

The president is not on the ballot, but Democrats are hoping he can still motivate voters.

Barack Obama:

And because early voting runs through this Friday, you don’t have to wait until election day. You can vote all week.

I mean, you can only vote once. This isn’t Chicago now.

Zac Schultz:

Turnout in Milwaukee drops by one-third in midterm elections, and a large part of the drop-off comes from minority voters. That’s why the president appeared at a high school in an African-American neighborhood, a ward that gave him 99% of the vote in 2012. He told the crowd to grab all their relatives and vote early.

Barack Obama:

Take all of them to cast their ballot, and cast their ballot for Mary Burke.

Zac Schultz:

The fact is, President Obama is not in high demand right now across the country, due to his slouching approval ratings in the polls. Many Democratic candidates, especially those running for the US senate, don’t want him in their state right now. And Mary Burke did not appear publicly with the president in his two previous visits to Wisconsin earlier this year.

Mary Burke:

I am thrilled that he is in Wisconsin to help us out.

Zac Schultz:

Governor Walker sees this visit as a sign of weakness.

Scott Walker:

I’m glad he’s here. I think it’s a reflection of the fact that they can’t get over the 47% they’re at right now. And so they decided to concede to me any of the last-minute debate with undecided swing voters in key areas across the state, and instead focus on trying to — up the vote in Madison and Milwaukee.

Mike Tate:

I think that’s desperate talk from a desperate politician who knows that he's on the verge of losing an election.

Zac Schultz:

Mike Tate is chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. He says Burke is campaigning in the same parts of the state as Walker.

Mike Tate:

You know, Mary's campaigning in Milwaukee, but she's also campaigning all over the state. In the next seven days you’re going to see her in every nook and cranny of Wisconsin.

Zac Schultz:

We’ve charted the candidates’ official appearances since Monday. And while Governor Walker has made more stops than Mary Burke, they are similar in that both are making sure to hit each media market to maximize their appearances on TV. The truth is neither one needs to worry about getting enough media attention. National media outlets followed both campaigns, using the president’s visit to talk about a close election. In any event, you won’t hear Democrats apologize for using the president to boost turnout.

Mike Tate:

We’re happy the president’s here today. I think it’s going to have a great impact on the race.

Scott Walker:

They can bring in all the surrogates in the world, but I think in many ways that backfires, particularly with the president.

Chris Christie:

Thank you all for being here. It’s great to be back in Wisconsin.

Zac Schultz:

And while Walker is quick to bash an appearance by the president, he has his own campaign surrogate coming back in New Jersey governor, Chris Christie.

Scott Walker:

In the end, he's coming because he asked if he could come, and we weren’t going to say no. We’re not looking for surrogates. The people that have been campaigning with me are by and large people from Wisconsin.

Zac Schultz:

No matter where they are or who they’re with, all that really matters to the candidates is that they’re on your TV each night and on your mind on November 4.