First Lady Michelle Obama visited Madison Tuesday to encourage students to turn out on Election Day and volunteer for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke.
The first lady, flanked by UW-Madison students clad in their school colors, lauded Burke’s position on education, women’s rights and the economy.
Obama said the margin of victory of a close election, as she expects Wisconsin’s to be, can come down to a majority of just 10 votes per ward.
Last week’s Marquette Law School poll found that 50 percent of likely voters favor current Gov. Scott Walker while 45 percent will vote for Burke. Among registered voters Walker received 46 percent to Burke’s 45. Obama said turnout could be the deciding factor in the race.
“If women and minorities and young people show up, Mary wins,” Obama said. “She wins.”
Mary Burke made her case to voters and volunteers when she took the podium, attacking Gov. Scott Walker for his jobs record.
“I am a business person,” Burke told the crowd of 1,250 at the Overture Center. “I know that tax cuts to those at the top and special interests, they do not create jobs. Neither do cuts to public education that are strangling our schools.”
Burke reiterated her plan to raise the minimum wage and balance the budget, to standing applause from those in attendance.
Susan Happ, running for state attorney general, and U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., also spoke at the event. Pocan echoed Obama’s sentiment that increased voter turnout among students would ensure Burke’s victory on Nov. 4.
“Wisconsin is not a purple state,” Pocan said. “When people vote, we are a beautiful shade of indigo blue.”
State Republicans attacked Burke in a statement Monday for favoring the policies of President Barack Obama’s administration, but the first lady used her husband’s track record to energize attendees Tuesday.
“By almost every economic measure, we are better off today than when Barack Obama took office,” Obama said.
The president is scheduled to campaign with Burke in Wisconsin before the Nov. 4 election, Burke’s Communications Director Joe Zepecki told the Associated Press.
