'Either candidate has a good chance to win': UWM Professor Emeritus weighs in as Election Day nears

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Election Day is only nine days away and as the date nears, the campaigns are heating up.

As we enter the home stretch, local analysts say it's important to continue to stay informed and educated on the candidates you are planning to vote for.

Mordecai Lee, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Professor Emeritus, said he believes campaigns are focused on their "Get Out the Vote" strategies, which center on reaching their target audience. 

“It’s the campaign that’s identified their supporters and makes sure they actually do vote. That’s the campaign that’s going to win next Tuesday," Lee said. 

According to Lee, in the last three partisan state elections in dating back to when President Trump was elected, "the person who won Wisconsin won by 30,000 votes or less out of 3,000,000 votes cashed."

"By 1% out of 3,000,000 people voting, I would say to people, your vote might be one of those 30,000," Lee said. "Both the governor's race and the Senate race are coin flips."

Lee added that as Nov. 8 comes closer, voters will most likely be seeing more "frantic activity", from those running, such as door knocking, post cards, or frequent text messages and phone calls.

"To win a campaign you throw in everything, including the kitchen sink, because the last thing you want is to wake up on Wednesday morning and to say, 'darn it, why didn't I do 'fill in the blank?' That could've given me 5,000 votes or 10,000 votes,'" Lee said.

When it comes to pre-election polls, Lee said voters need to remember that there is a margin of error.

"Citizens and voters see poll results. The numbers give a false sense of precision," Lee said. "I would estimate that both of these races are dead heats and that either candidate of either party has as good a chance to win."