Polls are open in Wisconsin where the national spotlight is focused as state voters make their choice in the Republican and Democratic presidential race.
The presidential candidates have spent the last 10 days crisscrossing the state, appearing at town hall meetings, rallies and giving speeches. Meanwhile, a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and other statewide and local races are among the items on Tuesday’s ballot.
Temperatures are in the teens to the north and 20s south as early voters went to their polling places on Tuesday. Rain and snow was expected later, but, it’s not yet known whether it will deter some of the 1.7 million voters expected to cast ballots in Wisconsin. That would be about 40 percent of eligible voters.
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About 210,000 absentee ballots have been returned to local clerks. The ballots are counted at the polls or an alternate location.
For Republicans, three candidates are vying for the state’s delegates in a fiercely fought campaign. Frontrunner Donald Trump is looking to solidify his grasp on the party’s nomination while rivals Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, and John Kasich, the governor of Ohio, are looking to thwart those plans. Cruz has nabbed the backing of much of Wisconsin’s Republican leadership, including Gov. Scott Walker.
Cruz appears primed for pulling off an upset in Wisconsin. In the latest Marquette University Law School poll, Cruz had support of 40 percent of likely GOP voters in Wisconsin while Trump had 30 percent. Kasich had 21 percent.
Trump, Cruz and Kasich are the only Republicans still actively campaigning, but several other former hopefuls will still be on the ballot on Tuesday. Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Carly, Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Rick Santorum will appear on the ballot, but have stopped their campaigns.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton is aiming to dispatch her longtime rival, Bernie Sanders, and solidify her hold on the party’s nomination. Clinton, the former secretary of state, U.S. senator and first lady, has argued that she is the candidate best suited to keep the White House in the Democrats’ hands in November. Meanwhile, Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, has said he’s leading a political movement focused on change.
Like Cruz, Sanders appears ahead of the acknowledged frontrunner. According to the Marquette University Law School poll, Sanders has 49 percent of likely Democratic voters while Clinton has 45 percent.
Besides Clinton and Sanders, Martin O’Malley will also be on the ballot, but he stopped his efforts earlier in the campaign
Also on the ballot is the election of a new Wisconsin Supreme Court justice. Justice Rebecca Bradley is competing against appeals court Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg for a 10-year term on the state’s highest court. Gov. Scott Walker appointed Bradley to the court following the September 2015 death of Justice N. Patrick Crooks.
In the latest Marquette poll, Bradley was supported by 41 percent while Kloppenburg had 36 percent. Eighteen percent of respondents said they were undecided.
The polls will close at 8 p.m. statewide.
Wisconsin’s primary voter turnout is expected to be 40 percent, which would be the highest since 1980.
Stay tuned to Wisconsin Public Radio and WPR.org for continuing coverage.
Editor’s Note: For additional election results and information, visit Wisconsin Vote.org.
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