Less than a month until the national spotlight will be focused on Wisconsin’s Republican presidential primaries, figures central to the campaign to reelect President Barack Obama visited Madison Wednesday to encourage students to begin campaign efforts of their own.
Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and National Field Director Jeremy Bird spoke to and answered questions from an audience of about 150 UW-Madison students gathered at the Memorial Union. They also addressed students from nine other UW campuses who tuned in to watch the event via webcam.
The two keynote speakers touched on topics ranging from health care, education and the war in Iraq to the Republican candidates. But Wednesday night was primarily about inspiring the students to begin campaigning on their campuses.
“It’s not going to happen because people want it to happen; it’s going to happen because people came here today as a launching pad for the organization we are building in colleges and universities across the state of Wisconsin and across the country,” Bird said.
Gibbs said Wisconsin is recognized as a significant battleground state in the November presidential election, and students will play a crucial role in deciding who comes out on top.
“We would not have gotten elected were it not for the energy we felt from young voters, but particularly students, in 2008,” Gibbs said. “We need to make sure (students) are just as into it and excited this time, because there is just as much at stake.”
The Republican primaries have not yet identified a candidate to challenge Obama. But following a win, albeit by a small margin, in the important Ohio primary Tuesday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney seems to have reasserted himself as the clear frontrunner. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., however, has been successful at appealing to socially conservative, working-class voters that Romney struggles with and may pose a threat to the former governor’s lead.
Gibbs said students have a lot at stake in the election given Romney and Santorum’s policies on education.
“For Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney to basically tell people your on your own when it comes to affording a college education, I think that says all you need to know about what a future would look like under either one of them as President of the United States,” Gibbs said. Wisconsin will hold its primary elections April 3.
