MONROE, Wis. — The first poll since last week's primary shows the race for governor is shaping up to be tight in Wisconsin.
For Republicans, the focus is on rallying behind Tim Michels, who is traveling the state with his running mate, Roger Roth, as part of a unity tour.
“I'm a windshield guy, not a rearview mirror guy,” Michels told a crowd of supporters gathered at the Republican Party of Green County headquarters Wednesday. “We must have everybody on board and working towards the common goal.”
The first Marquette University Law School poll since last week's primary shows Gov. Tony Evers with a slim two-point advantage over Michels. However, that lead falls within the margin of error.
Michels said he feels confident his support will continue to surge and pointed out that he has only been in the race for four months while his opponent, Evers, has been in office for four years.
“The polls show that it's, you know, really close,” Michels said in an exclusive interview. “I like where we stand right now, but everywhere I go the anecdotal evidence is just amazing. People are actually hugging me and saying 'Tim, thank you for getting in the race.'”
The latest Marquette poll also asked whether voters feel the candidates care about people like them. More Wisconsinites connected with Evers, which is not necessarily surprising given he is the incumbent. However, the numbers present Michels with an opportunity to change minds as he campaigns.
“I'm all about hard-working people,” Michels said. “I'm all about families. I'm all about the state of Wisconsin, and it's not about all these woke-left social issues. That's what we're going to do, and that's how we're going to make up ground.”
Michels hopes that ground can be gained by appealing to a broad base of Republicans, and even Democrats who he believes feel left behind by their party. His attempts to do so are evident as Michels' priorities have seemingly shifted since the primary election from election integrity while campaigning with former President Donald Trump to a more bread-and-butter issue: the economy.
“My number one priority is and always is going to be jobs and the economy,” Michels explained when asked about the change. “The number one thing that needs fixing is election integrity, so there's a difference there, and we can fix the election integrity problems very quickly.”
Meanwhile, Michels' opponent, Tony Evers, wants to stop him from taking a more middle-of-the-road approach.
“Trump owns him, he owns Trump and is connected to Trump,” Evers told reporters the morning after the election. “That's his problem. That's not mine.”
Now, both gubernatorial candidates are trying to tie each other to their party's president.
“Well, let's talk about presidents you know, Tony Evers and Joe Biden—they're two peas in a pod,” Michels said when asked about his endorsement from Trump. “They're both career politicians that are in way over their head.”
The Marquette poll also shows 89% of Republicans support Michels, while 91% of Democrats support Evers, indicating Michels has had no difficulty unity the party so far.
Still, neither side of the aisle is willing to take anything for granted over the next 82 days.
"Wisconsinites trust Gov. Tony Evers to do the right thing for our kids, our economy, and working families, and this latest Marquette poll shows what we’ve known all along — this will be one of the most competitive races in the country and we aren’t taking anything for granted,” Kayla Anderson, senior press secretary for the Evers campaign said in a statement. “While Tim Michels continues to embrace the most radical, out-of-touch agenda for our state, Wisconsinites recognize that Governor Evers cares about people like them. Governor Evers has spent the last four years bringing people together to get things done and delivering for working families — and he is ready for what’s ahead."