MADISON, Wis. — Republicans vying to challenge Democratic Gov. Tony Evers this November have crisscrossed Wisconsin and made their final push for support ahead of Tuesday's primary.
Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who started her morning at a Madison supper club, was more active on the campaign trail Monday, while her opponent, businessman Tim Michels, seems to hope the energy from Friday's rally with former President Donald Trump will get him across the finish line.
“Vote for Rebecca tomorrow. It's no longer Tuesday, August 9. It's tomorrow, you guys. Just vote Rebecca tomorrow. I'm the only Rebecca on the ballot. Everyone else is just named Tim,” Kleefisch joked with supporters Monday.
With her family by her side, Kleefisch had six stops scheduled Monday across Wisconsin, during which she touted her commitment to tackling inflation, reducing crime and providing universal school choice to parents.
“I'm the only proven conservative reformer in this race,” Kleefisch said. “I always say when someone shows you who they are, believe them. Not when they tell you who they are. When someone shows you who they are, believe them. I could tell you all sorts of things, but you guys know it's politics. Words are cheap.”
Michels made his last big pitch to voters during a rally Friday at the Waukesha County Fairgrounds.
“I will back the blue. I will get rid of the catch and release DAs, I'll fire them, and we're going to have law and order again in the state of Wisconsin,” Michels told the crowd.
Given the endorsement from Trump, election reform is high on Michels' list of priorities.
“Since the founding of our country, people [have come] together because they're concerned about the direction of the country, because they want to vet candidates, they want to hear what candidates stand for, and I'm telling you we're going to have election integrity here in Wisconsin,” Michels said while standing alongside the former president.
Both frontrunners have already set their sights on their potential opponent in the general election as Michels and Kleefisch made education a big talking point out on the trail as well.
“Tony Evers has been an educrat his entire career,” Michels said during last week's rally. “If there's one thing in Wisconsin that should be going well, it's education. He's been a leader in education for 13 years, and education continues to decline, get worse and worse and worse. If he can't do anything good for education, he can't do anything well at all.”
“Somebody needs to fight for our children, and that's why we're going to do universal school choice in our state, where your education dollars actually follow your child's education and not buildings and bureaucrats,” Kleefisch told her supporters. “It's why I will sign the parents' bill of rights. We are going to stop teaching hate in our state.”
According to their campaigns, both candidates will be back home Tuesday morning, so they can head to the polls shortly after they open at 7 a.m.