As the summer months heat up, so too will the gubernatorial campaigns of both the two leading Republican candidates and the Democratic frontrunner, who entered the race just six months ago.
After over a year on the campaign trail, both leading Republican candidates, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and former Congressman Mark Neumann, will continue to duke it out as they move at full speed toward the September primary. By that time, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett will likely have clinched the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's official endorsement.
In the months leading up to the primary election, the candidates said they plan to strengthen their online presence, set up new offices and attend local events. Although the campaigns declined to reveal their summer playbooks, their strategies will likely become more aggressive.
""The race just heats up and schedules get very, very tight here from here on out. It's really nonstop, go go go throughout the summer and into the fall,"" Chris Lato, spokesperson for the Neumann campaign, said.
Lato said although the campaign trail is busy, Neumann will make an effort to reach out to students.
""Rest assured that we're constantly looking for opportunities to reach out to students on campuses throughout the state and that's an effort that's going to continue throughout the summer,"" he said.
According to Phil Walzak, Barrett campaign spokesperson, the campaign will soon launch a website targeted at students who are interested in getting involved on their campus.
""We have seen in the last couple of elections campus voter turnout really being a decisive factor in elections. This campaign takes very seriously the importance of getting on campuses,"" he said.
Throughout the summer and into next semester, campus organizations like College Democrats and College Republicans will use social networking sites to update students on campaign-related events at UW-Madison.
""We'll certainly be their message ‘relayer,' I guess you could say,"" said Stephen Duerst, the newly elected chair of the UW-Madison College Republicans. ""We'll do both Twitter and Facebook and keep our members updated through press releases.""
The Republican Party of Wisconsin also plans to set up a new campaign office this summer in efforts to engage the Madison community. Both leading Republican candidates plan to continue their ad campaigns and participate in community parades and other events.
According to UW-Madison political science professor Dennis Dresang, ""it's going to be hard for Tom Barrett to get a lot of attention when most people who are focusing on the gubernatorial race are going to focus more right now on the contest with the Republican Party.""
Both leading Republican candidates have been aggressively placing television, radio and online advertisements over the past few months.
Although Barrett has made an effort to tour businesses and communities around the state, he has spent less than either of the leading Republican candidates. According to the January campaign finance report, in the second half of 2009, Barrett spent about $70,000, compared to over $900,000 for Walker.
""We have the people, they have the cash,"" Graeme Zielinski, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said. ""We're not going to interfere with their race to the bottom ... If they are going to try to outflank each other on the far right ... why should we interfere?""
However, according to Dresang, the campaigns' efforts to distinguish themselves will not persuade some voting blocs to shift their alliances.
""Having a brown bag rather than a caviar lunch is really not going to change [votes] very much,"" he said. ""But it's part of campaigning to look like you're appealing to everybody even if they're not your natural constituents.""
