Evers stops at UW-Eau Claire, makes final campaign pitch

Nov. 1—EAU CLAIRE — Gov. Tony Evers was pleased to see that roughly three-fourths of attendees at his rally Tuesday at UW-Eau Claire raised their hands, showing they had already voted ahead of Tuesday's general election.

Evers told the 100 people in attendance their work was not over just because they had already voted. He urged the crowd to approach others and encourage them to vote, and drive them to the polls if needed.

"If we talk to them, we can convince them to vote for us," Evers said.

After the rally, Evers said he was enthused by seeing so many people indicate they had already voted, and he believes it is at a higher rate than when he won the seat four years ago. However, he added that if he wins, he wants to revisit legislation that would allow county clerks to start tallying early-vote ballots a day before Election Day, noting that it would erase some of the inaccurate beliefs of "late-night vote dumps" when those ballots are counted.

"They can continue to get out and get people to the polls," Evers said.

Evers, a Democrat concluding the final year of his first term as governor, is facing Republican challenger Tim Michels. Evers noted the difference between the candidates, saying he would continue investing more money in schools, including higher education, and he would support abortion access legislation, while Michels would not. He said Michels "would wipe out all of our successes."

He pointed out the low unemployment rate in the state.

"Our economy is strong going forward," Evers said.

Democracy is at stake in this election, he added. He noted that the Republican-led Legislature has sent multiple bills to him in the past four years that would make it more challenging for the elderly and shut-ins to vote, and Evers vetoed each bill. If Michels wins, he would likely sign those measures into law, Evers said.

Evers also contends that Michels doesn't acknowledge climate change, and many of the sustainable measures implemented on campus and across the state could be eliminated under a Michels' administration, he contends.

Rachel Reisner, spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, criticized Evers' record Tuesday.

"Tony Evers' backwards bus tour is just his latest attempt to whitewash his record," Reisner said. "Wisconsin voters know Evers will only continue to take them backwards as he continues to release violent murderers and child rapists into their neighborhoods, propose billion dollar tax hikes, and put the teachers' unions ahead of struggling Badger State students."

Berkeley Diedrich, 18, of Hayward is among the first-time voters who already cast his ballot. The UW-Eau Claire freshman said he cast an absentee ballot. Diedrich said he felt it was important to hear from Evers.

"I think it's super-important for young voters to get out on the scene," Diedrich said. "The more educated I am, the more I'll be able to persuade other young people to vote. It's going to be easy for students to vote, because they can do that here (at the Davies Student Center.)"

Damareis Lewis, 19, of Milwaukee also said it was his first time seeing Evers speak.

"I like seeing (candidates) in person," Lewis said. "You can see if they are sincere, and being genuine."

Evers was joined on the campaign trail by Sara Rodriguez, who represents the western Milwaukee suburbs in the Assembly, and she's running for lieutenant governor. Rodriguez spoke about being a public health official and she would fight for protecting abortion access in Wisconsin.

Attorney General Josh Kaul also spoke at the rally, discussing his office's success in making sure every sexual assault kit is now tested, suing pharmaceutical companies over their role in the opioid epidemic, and holding polluters accountable. He vowed that if he wins re-election, he would continue pushing for gun law reforms such as "red flag" legislation, and he also said he will continue to pursue a lawsuit to have an 1849 law overturned that currently outlaws abortion in the state. He said his opponent, Eric Toney, would take the state out of that lawsuit.

The 1849 law has made parents scared at a time when they should be thrilled with news of a pregnancy, he added.

"Parents now come in terrified about what could happen if there is a complication with their pregnancy," Kaul said.