Midterm elections: GOP leaders implore faithful in Waukesha to get out the vote.

Johnson stumps for Vukmir in Waukesha

WAUKESHA - With a little more than a week to go before election day, Wisconsin Republican leaders on Saturday urged a group of party faithful to help send GOP voters to the polls on Nov. 6.

Led by Sen. Ron Johnson and Senate hopeful Leah Vukmir, a group of 75 supporters heard from a dozen candidates for state and national office, who derided Democrats for supporting big government and reminding them that turnout is critical.

The get-out-the-vote rally in an empty warehouse behind the offices of the Waukesha County Republican Party took place a day after former President Barack Obama campaigned for Democrats in Milwaukee at North Division High School.

In Waukesha, campaign workers laid out piles of yard signs from the candidates. The candidates themselves urged those assembled to text and use social media to ensure Republicans go to the polls in big numbers.

Johnson trumpeted the candidacy of Vukmir, a state senator who is running against incumbent Democrat Tammy Baldwin. He criticized Baldwin for her vote not to confirm Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court and Baldwin's backing of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Johnson, who does not face election this year, reminded the group of recent history: Strong Republican Party turnouts in recent elections, particularly in Waukesha County, helped ensure wins for Gov. Scott Walker, President Donald Trump and himself.

“You have to have that same level of tenacity,” Johnson said. “The left is relentless.”

Vukmir acknowledged that she is the underdog in the race, with polls showing Baldwin ahead. She said she is undeterred, and said a vote for her would mean Johnson’s Senate votes would not be canceled next year by Democrat Baldwin.

“No one is going to call me a low-energy candidate,” she said.

Vukmir lauded Trump for his Supreme Court selections, for rolling back regulations and for “standing up to foreign leaders,” adding that Trump’s toughness on trade and in diplomacy is a stark contrast to Obama’s.

She criticized Baldwin for being weak on immigration and her support for Obamacare.

“Tammy Baldwin has been an absolute disgrace — she does not represent our Wisconsin values,” Vukmir said.

Attorney General Brad Schimel told the group that they should remind their

friends about the strong economy, and contrast the situation today with eight years ago when unemployment was far higher under Democratic leadership.

He dismissed the candidacy of his Democratic opponent, Josh Kaul, who is trailing Schimel in the polls.

“My opponent might be the biggest secret in the election because he is not doing anything,” he said.

Gail Kimmes, 60, of New Berlin is a retired nurse.

“I’m very conservative,” she said. “When you have people together like this that have the same morals, the same values, together, the energy in the room is just fantastic.”

John and Yvonne Stubbs of New Berlin said they were happy with what they heard. As an extra step this year, Yvonne, 45, has been texting her friends and urging them to vote and offering to babysit their children when they go to the polls.

Why?

“I know that as a dentist, my business is thriving under Gov. Walker’s leadership,” she said. “More people are employed. More people, as result of being employed, have dental insurance and they are coming in and getting the care they have needed all of these years.

“So I have a personal stake in keeping the economic trends we are seeing continue.”