Campaign strategies likely to change for Wis. candidates in general election

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - As the race to November’s general election kicks into high gear, campaign strategies are likely to shift.

“The notion that the primary voters are more ideologically extreme is not an assumption, it’s a fact,” Kenneth Mayer, professor of American politics at UW-Madison, said. He explained, winning a primary is different from winning a general election.

He named Trump-endorsed Republican Tim Michels as an example, set to face the Democratic incumbent Gov. Tony Evers.

“I would look for Michels to try to find ways of softening that image and look for Evers, Democrats to highlight those more extreme positions that he took in the primary and recapitulate some of the strategies that were used against him in the primary,” he said.

Michels secured the Republican nod Tuesday, according to unofficial results from the Associated Press. Gubernatorial candidate Rebecca Kleefisch conceded just minutes before the call was made.

With Wisconsin’s primary victors decided, voters are also looking ahead to the showdowns in November.

“Feeling good after the election results from yesterday,” Casey Farner, a Madison voter, said. “I’m really proud of the Democrats coming together behind Mandela before primary night and having that coalition, which we rarely see from the Democratic Party.”

Jennifer Boardman, who plans to vote in the general election, said, “I’m looking right now at the Republican side. I usually vote Democratic, but I’m not really happy with what they’ve done the last couple of years.”

Especially this year, Mayer said campaigns will have other “moving pieces” to consider, including the issue of abortion rights.

“There are a lot of laws of politics that have been upended in the last four or six years,” he said.

The general election is on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.

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