For northeast Wisconsin the political week just encountered was something the region really has never experienced before. Because with nearly every presidential candidate visiting multiple times, it felt more like a general election than a primary. Today NBC26 breaks down what changed as the candidates made their rounds for voters.
What happened this week in Appleton, Green Bay and De Pere was something our region isn't used to seeing during a primary.
"I think they all had their turn in the spotlight," say Jim Morrison a political consultant out of Howard.
"We're getting multiple visits by every candidate," adds Michael Kraft a political analyst.
Political experts are weighing in today on the results of a long week of campaigning.
"Peoples interests have really picked up by this thing," adds Morrison.
On the democrat’s side of the aisle, Hilary Clinton tapped into a resource, her husband. It was likely in an effort to draw support after polls indicated her numbers were trending down in the last month here in Wisconsin.
"Three or four points is not a statistically significant difference given the margin of error. But it's read as saying Clinton used to be ahead by 6 points and now Bernie Sanders looks like he's ahead by 4 points," says Kraft.
Meanwhile Bernie Sanders is seeing his momentum continue to build across the state.
"He's got a tremendous following of millennials and young people. And they're enthusiastic. The rallies he's had were well attended," says Morrison.
And for the Republicans, back in February a Marquette Law School poll found Donald Trump had the support of 30 percent of likely republican voters and Ted Cruz just 19 percent.
"Trump suffered this week and Cruz got a bit of a boost because of events here in Wisconsin," adds Kraft.
This week governor Walker endorsed Ted Cruz as the Republican candidate of choice. Today Cruz has managed to get 40 percent of the republican support while Trump’s numbers remain the same as a month ago at 30 percent.
"Showing Cruz up by as much as 10 points is significant. That's really significant," says Morrison.
For the other republican candidate, John Kasich, he still clutches about 8 percent of the vote from republicans according to the same poll. That number ultimately leaving many political experts wondering what to make of his candidacy this late in the game.
It's anticipated that the primary election on the 5th will have a 40 percent turnout here in Wisconsin. Compare that to your typical primary and that's nearly double what states are used to seeing for turnout.
