Candidates highlight first day of in-person voting

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Candidates for U.S. Senate and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers crisscrossed the battleground state Tuesday to highlight the first day of in-person voting.

In Milwaukee, Governor Evers and Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes celebrated the start of early voting as it marks the final two-week stretch until Election Day on Nov. 8.

"Avoid the lines. Vote today," Evers said to a crowd of SEIU members at a Get Out the Vote rally.

Polling shows Evers essentially tied with his Republican opponent Tim Michels. During his remarks, Evers touted his investments in education, small businesses and criticized Michels' position on abortion as too radical for the state.

"Getting people to understand what my positions are and making them understand the differences between Tim Michels and myself with what we've accomplished and his radical, out of touch pieces he's working on," Evers said.

Michels did not have any scheduled events Tuesday. He will host a rally in Waukesha with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday.

Evers joined Barnes at the event as his former running mate seeks to unseat incumbent Republican Senator Ron Johnson. Johnson has a slight lead over Barnes in polling.

Earlier in the day, Barnes held a roundtable with SEUI members about the economy and the importance of participating in elections.

"When people out there ask why it's important for me to vote, why it's important for me get involved, because elections are literally life-changing," Barnes said. "Things could actually get a lot worse and then I tell them things could get a lot better."

At a campaign event in Waukesha, Johnson urged his supporters to cast a ballot before November and encouraged voters to become poll observers. Johnson said volunteering at the polls is one way to start restoring confidence in elections.

"We're going to have eyes on the process, and I think that's the most important thing," said Johnson. "I am hoping and praying that when the polls close, all of us can sit there and say this is going to be a solid result. That's really what we're trying to accomplish here."

Johnson said the Republican Party of Wisconsin recruited 5,000 poll workers to work at the polls on Election Day. It comes after many Republicans, including Johnson, raised concerns over how the 2020 presidential election was administered after former President Donald Trump's loss to Joe Biden.

"I think we have more poll workers because people are concerned about the integrity of our elections…everything we are trying to do is not for partisan advantages, it's literally to restore that confidence."