By james art 
Ohio Senator JD Vance in La Crosse, WI. Photo courtesy of Fox News 6 Milwaukee.
On the eve of the election, Ohio Sen. JD Vance made his final campaign stop in Wisconsin before the final day of voting on November 5. Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz and Vance addressed voters in La Crosse Monday morning to address the state’s changing electorate.
Supporters filled a room on the second floor of the La Crosse Center, the same building where former President Donald Trump held a town hall event last August. Doors opened at 7:30am, at 8:30am the band rose for the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.
Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Schimming addressed the crowd first. He urged everyone to support Republican candidates up and down the ballot, including Eric Hovde for the U.S. Senate, incumbent Derrick Van Orden for the U.S. House of Representatives and Republicans vying for seats in the Wisconsin State Senate and Assembly.
Congressman Tom Tiffany followed Schimming with a similar message. Tiffany explained that for Trump to have a successful presidency, the House of Representatives must maintain a Republican majority, and for that to happen, supporters must vote for Van Orden.
“Because you know what’s going to happen?” Tiffany asked the crowd. “If, God forbid, the Democrats take back the house and we have President Trump, what’s the first thing they’re going to do?” They’re going to impeach him.”
Wisconsin voters’ ballots include a statewide referendum question where voters will answer yes or no to change the language of a bill that restricts noncitizen voting in the Wisconsin Constitution, a law already in effect. Tiffany reminded the group to vote yes, “Only citizens should vote in the state of Wisconsin,” he said.
Republican Rep. Van Orden addressed the crowd after Tiffany and, like speakers before him, emphasized the narrow margins that will determine the outcome of this election. All of the morning speakers mentioned the 20,000 number because Biden won Wisconsin by that margin in 2020.
“20,000 votes is the difference between securing our border and having a country that really doesn’t exist. 20,000 votes is the difference between prosperity and poverty,” Van Orden said.
A Marquette Law School poll shows Harris and Trump in a head-to-head race in Wisconsin, with Harris holding a 1 percent lead over Trump. There is a big difference in vote choice between those who plan to vote on Election Day or vote early in person — groups that favor Trump — and those who vote absentee by mail — who strongly support Harris, as data from the survey.
Vance took the stage as the crowd chanted USA. The senator was accompanied by his wife, Usha Vance, who took a seat in the audience.
Governor Waltz spoke two blocks from Vance just an hour after the event began in Vance. Vance noted both vice presidential nominees in the same city.
“I don’t think any of us have ever had a day like Tim Walz is going to have today. Where he has to go around and convince the American people that Kamala Harris can be president of the United States, that’s a tough job,” Vance said. “I think it’s the hardest job in the United States of America.”
A common jab at Harris in the Trump-Vance campaign is the claim that a Harris administration will mirror that of Biden, with Vance branding her a “more of the same candidate.” Vance linked it to voter frustration with the economy.
“Kamala Harris is more of the same high grocery prices, Kamala Harris is more of the same unaffordable housing. Kamala Harris is more of the same chaos of the world, and Kamala Harris is more of the same wide-open frontier,” Vance said.
He emphasized that voters don’t have to agree with every policy he and Trump support, but pointed out that under the Trump administration, people could afford their bills, the U.S.-Mexico border was secure and wages were rising.
“Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Vance asked the people of Wisconsin. “I think most of us would say absolutely not.”
The answer is simple, explained Vance, “Kamala Harris broke it and Donald J. Trump will fix it.”
Vance cited a case in Prairie du Chien, WI, where police said a man with ties to a transnational gang assaulted a woman and her daughter. Van Orden had mentioned the same case in his remarks to a crowd with Trump at a Sept. 7 rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin. This case is consistent with the campaign’s focus on illegal immigration, which increases violent crime rates.
“You know the most important thing Kamala?” Vance asked. “If you want to stand up for women and young girls, do you want to make our communities safe enough for women and young girls to walk down the street and not be sexually assaulted…”
Vance explained that illegal immigration has a broader impact beyond crime, affecting public schools and the health care system.
On the subject of Wisconsin schools, Vance said, “You’ve got thousands and thousands of kids in Wisconsin schools who don’t even speak English because they’re the children of illegal immigrants.” He cited that as a reason why the quality of education has declined.
In his final visit to Wisconsin this campaign cycle, Vance delivered a closing message to voters to reassure them that Trump would offer strong leadership, a quality he said Harris lacked.
“My friends, tomorrow we will give the American people better leadership, we will make Donald Trump the next president, and we will do it together,” Vance concluded.