WISCONSIN — The presidential candidates and their campaigns are making a flurry of visits to battleground Wisconsin in the week leading up to the Nov. 5 election.

What You Need To Know

  • With one week to go until Election Day, more than 511,000 Wisconsinites already voted in-person absentee, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission

  • Of the more than 1.1 million absentee ballots requested, more than 989,000 have been returned

  • Early voting is important to candidates; they want to lock up core supporters so they can then focus on others who might not be as willing to vote

  • When it comes to the state Legislature, all Assembly seats are on the ballot in November; Democrats feel like they have a real chance of winning back control of that chamber

 
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political science professor Anthony Chergosky said early voting is very important for the candidates and their campaigns.

"They want to lock in their core supporters as early as possible," he explained. "If they get those core supporters to vote early, then they can focus on other voters —  maybe those voters with a lower probability of voting," Chergosky said.

When it comes to state legislative races, new maps are in play for this election. Chergosky said he believes Republicans will lose their super majority.

"Republicans will maintain their state Senate majority, because state senators serve staggered terms, so only half of them are up for election this year. However, all state Assembly seats are on the ballot this year, all 99 of them, and Democrats feel like they have a very real chance at winning majority control of the state Assembly." 

Watch the full interview above.

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