GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – With less than a week before the midterm election a former U.S. Representative from Wisconsin is giving his insight to the most recent Marquette Law School Poll.
Reid Ribble, former Republican U.S. Representative for Wisconsin’s 8th congressional district from 2011 to 2017, says there is a lot at stake next Tuesday both at the state and national level.
He joined WTAQ’s Morning News with Matt & Earl on Thursday.
The most recent poll shows the race between Scott Walker and challenger Tony Evers neck-and-neck with both showing 47-percent support among likely voters, but Ribble says one has momentum.
“Governor Walker has got some wind to his back,” says Ribble. “The economy in Wisconsin is soaring, manufacturing jobs are up, the pension is fully funded for state employees.”
He expects Governor Walker to narrowly win re-election.
Other findings, such as the race for U.S. Senator, are not as close. The same poll shows that Senator Tammy Baldwin is leading challenger Leah Vukmir, 54-to-43-percent.
Ribble believes a big factor to the lead is that Baldwin, in his estimation, does a great job of marketing herself.
“She’s present, she’s in the news,” he says. “She’s very, very adept at using earned media, getting on both radio and newsprint and TV.”
The race for Attorney General is a close contest with incumbent Brad Schimel leading challenger Josh Kaul, 47-to-45 percent, which is within the poll’s margin of error.
According to Ribble, it’ll be a tight win for the incumbent.
“I think Schimel’s in pretty good shape,” he says. “I think he’s going to win and he’s probably going to win even more handily than Governor Walker does.”
Ribble foresees all three incumbents in those races holding their spots, but he did hint towards a possible shakeup in the state assembly.
“I do think Republicans in the state assembly probably lose a couple of seats,” he says.
What will the landscape look like at the national level following Tuesday night, though?
A big focus for both sides will be what happens with the House of Representatives.
“I do believe Republicans are going to lose the House of Representatives by a narrow margin,” he says. “Certainly I don’t think it translates to a wave at this point.”
In terms of the specific number of seats that could be overturned in the House of Representatives, he believes reports going in will prove to be pretty accurate.
“All trends are pointing to a Democrat swing of probably somewhere between 26 to 30 seats,” says Ribble. “And I think that those numbers are probably correct.”
While results for the US Senate could go a different direction.
“I think the Republicans pick up a seat or two in the Senate,” he says. “It’s possible to pick up 3 or 4 seats, but I think it’s more likely to be a seat or two.”
The midterm election is next week Tuesday, November 6.
