Is Wisconsin a battleground state in the presidential race? Donald Trump appears to think so, as the GOP nominee is back in the state for events in La Crosse and Milwaukee on Tuesday.
Marquette Law School Poll director Charles Franklin says it’s an investment of the campaign’s most valuable commodity – the candidate’s time.
“You can always buy more advertising, but you cannot expand the time that the candidate is available,” Franklin said.
Trump was in Wisconsin already once this month, holding a rally on August 5th in Green Bay. His running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, has also visited the state twice since the Republican convention. It’s more “earned media” for a campaign that has yet to buy a significant amount of advertising.
“That has been a tremendous resource to the Trump campaign since last summer, and you see that continuing now in the general election,” Franklin said.
The Republican campaign’s attention on Wisconsin comes as Trump continues to trail Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Marquette poll. The latest results give her a 15 point lead among likely voters.