Mike Tobin, a reporter with Fox News, touched down in Green Bay on Monday and traveled to Milwaukee on Tuesday to cover Wisconsin races for the national news outlet.
"I guess the one thing I haven’t seen before is how close this race was at the beginning, and little has changed now," Tobin said of the governor’s election between incumbent Scott Walker and challenger Mary Burke.
"People seem to be really dug in on this one."
Because of the way we are entrenched in this battle ground between Republicans and Democrats, we fail to see how different this race may seem to political observers elsewhere in the nation. For those of us who have been through the first general election between Walker and Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, and the following recall election … it seems we are selecting who will be in the governor’s mansion every two years.
"The rest of the nation is watching to see which way the needle swings," Tobin said in a quick interview on Monday. "It is looked at as how we are in the country."
In our discussion we chatted about turnouts, the traditional stronghold counties for each party, and the need to mobilize the base for each side to have the chance to win. We also talked about how this race may impact future elections.
"Walker is being looked at as a potential candidate for president in 2016," Tobin said. "So he will have to win Wisconsin first."
With Paul Ryan, the vice presidential candidate with Mitt Romney and member of the U.S. House of Representatives coming from the same corner of the country, Walker basically said that if Ryan runs, he will be the congressman’s top fan.
But if everything lines up, and Walker gets the win today, we will see more of Tobin’s colleagues and peers making the trek to Wisconsin before the GOP ticket is chosen for a presidential bid.
In the meantime, expect Tobin’s reports to focus on the poll results he will be watching with the rest of the crowd at Walker’s rally throughout the evening.
You can find all of the major national news outlets coverage plans for Election Day here.
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