here on c-span, c-span now, our free mobile app, or online at c-span.org. ♪ announcer: join us tonight for a live tour of the newly opened white house historical association's visitor center and exhibits. the association president will join c-span as we travel through the 3--story center which is located one block from the president's residence at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. highlights include a replica of the south facade of the white house, a full-scale replica of the oval office and digital recreations rooms. we will be digging articles about the exhibits and presidential history as we too are the people's house, a white house experience. life tonight at 9:00 eastern on c-span. -- live tonight at 9:00 eastern on c-span.

♪ this election night, c-span delivers something different, not just the presidential race, but the state races that will decide the balance of power in congress. no political pundits, no spin, no commercials. just candidates, the results, and you. follow c-span on tuesday, november 5 on tv, online or on the free c-span now video apps. >> all this week the washington journal is focusing on key battleground states, and today we are going to be examining wisconsin, how things have changed since 2020 and with the public policy issues are motivating voters this year. scott is the state house reporter for the associated press in wisconsin and joins us now from madison. welcome. >> good morning. >> for the last six races have been decided by less than 1% in wisconsin. why is it such a battleground state? guest: it's kind of a microcosm

of america, really. we have two very large urban areas in milwaukee and madison that are overwhelmingly democratic. we have a lot of rural areas that are overwhelmingly republican, and then there are some swing communities, some smaller communities that are a little more purple. so you really have a lot of the same elements you see nationwide playing out. not just those presidential elections very close, but many of our other statewide races for governor and other offices have also been decided by very small margins over the past 20 plus years. >> and it was 2016 that former president trump became the first republican to win in wisconsin. has it been trending republican since then? >> well, it's hard to say since 2016, but democrats have had 14

of the last 17 statewide races they have won. the democrats feel like they are on a roll. we're still seeing very close races for the presidency, running polls in both campaigns have been saying that they believe both of those races are extremely close. democrats feel like they have some momentum but they are certainly not feeling like they're taking anything for granted. host: the senate race in wisconsin is between incumbent democrat hailey baldwin, republican challenger eric goosby. what is going on in that race and what is it looking like right now? guest: eric is a multimillionaire, he is supported by donald trump, he is a donald trump backer. he previously ran for senate in

2012 and lost in the primary to former governor tommy thompson, them lost to tammy baldwin in her first run for the senate, so tammy baldwin is running for a third term. she is running on her record, she is running on her ties to wisconsin. he's running on things that she's done for the dairy industry, for the agriculture industry. she's even run an advertisement where she has touted a bill that president trump signed. so she's running a typical four fairly typical bulb and campaign, trying to be immoderate but also appealing to liberal democrats. she appeared with former president obama and governor walz at a rally yesterday in madison. she's appeared at a kamala harris rally in madison. eric is really touchy on the same thing that we see nationwide in the a lot of these races. he's blaming baldwin for not doing enough on immigration, he's blaming baldwin for the economy, and he's also saying

that in nearly 40 years in public office that it is time for some fresh ideas from -- he portrays himself as an outsider, he certainly has never held political office before, but he has run once before. he's spending a lot of his own money on the race and democrats are pouring a ton of money into it. at last count it was the fourth or fifth most expensive senate race in the country this year. host: and if you'd like to join the conversation, ask a question of our guest, you can do so. we are focused on wisconsin. we've got a special line set aside for wisconsin residents. that is (202) 748-8002. -- that is (202) 748-8003. if you are a trump vance supporter, you can call us on (202) 748-8000. if you are supporting the harris-walz ticket, call us on (202) 748-8000. and if you are undecided or support somebody else, it is (202) 748-8002.

so scott, who are the undecided voters? how many, if you can gauge this, how many undecided voters are there in wisconsin and what is their demographic? guest: there's always a very small sliver of people who say they are undecided. i would hazard a cast at the polls are showing a very small number. one person or 2%, somewhere in that range. i would say these people in my experience are perhaps people who supported president trump in the past and now don't know if they want to do that again but they are not completely sold on kamala harris. so you have that demographic. you also have people who believe it or not for c-span viewers don't pay close attention to politics year-round, are following the day today hustle and bustle of the campaigns, and only started tuning for the end,

and these may be people who haven't voted before or just haven't been that engaged. so both sides are obviously spending a lot of time in wisconsin, a lot of money in wisconsin trying to engage with those low propensity voters and those folks who are perhaps waffling on president trump but are also not completely sold yet on harris. host: talk about how voting works in wisconsin. i believe early voting started yesterday, early in person voting. >> correct. can wisconsin you can vote absentee for any reason, no-fault absentee ballots began being mailed out to voters in late september, but yesterday with the first day of a roughly two week period where voters can go cast their absentee ballot in person at polling places around the state. so what we saw yesterday was an incredible influx of voters trying to vote in person. long lines in milwaukee, long

lines in madison, long lines and republican areas, conservative suburbs of milwaukee. just a lot of voters headed to the polls yesterday to cast those ballots in person. and before yesterday we had roughly 360,000 absentee ballots mailed in as well, so there will be a lot of activity prior to election day. the early voting period ends on sunday before the election, so plenty of opportunities to vote ahead of november 5. host: and what happens with accounting and the contesting of those votes? what are wisconsin's rules around that? guest: in wisconsin we are a state where those absentee ballots cannot begin to be processed until polls open on election day. there was a bipartisan bill to change that law so they can begin to be processed earlier, but that was blocked by some

republicans in the legislature. we in wisconsin cannot start processing those bills until 7:00 on tuesday, november 5 and if viewers recall, there have been some concerns in the past about how the vote count is returned and larger places that count all those absentee ballots in one location, primarily milwaukee, because they have what is called a central account, where all the absentee ballots, all the ballots are processed and because they can't start counting those until tuesday, it often leads to a very late return of those vote totals which lead to questions of impropriety when really it is just a matter of having to take all the time to process those votes. in 2020 they returned those votes around 4:00 a.m. on wednesday morning. governor tony evers said he was

optimistic they would have it done by midnight. also voiced confidence to be in an interview that she would have it done before midnight. most people are prepared for a pretty late night, early morning on vote returns here. host: there have been some controversy around drop boxes. guest: they were in use in the 2020 election but after that election, president trump and his supporters mounted an offensive against drop boxes, and the supreme court which was controlled at the time by conservative justices outlawed the use of any drop boxes not connected to the clerk's office. so effectively did away with absentee ballot drop boxes. the court then flipped to liberal control, one of the 14

races i mentioned earlier that democratic backed candidates had won. the court earlier this year said the drop boxes are once again legal. so that set up a situation where many communities that have drop boxes before had been back in place like milwaukee, like madison. many other communities had them before decided not to put them back, and those are primarily more conservative parts of the state. so the supreme court ordered made it voluntary. communities don't have to have drop boxes. they can if they want to. host: let's talk to our collars and start with mary in ohio, a harris supporter. caller: hi. i just really want the republicans to understand and some of the democrats that trump has a 2025 thing that he's going to do to get rid of a lot of things like social security,

medicare, medicaid. he wants to be another hitler. he's a terrible man and i hope people will really stop and think about this and for the watch him because he lies all the time. he has raped women, he is a terrible man so i just really hope that the american people will stop and think about it because we don't need another hitler. host: what are the issues that are really animating wisconsin voters? guest: as i referenced in the senate race, i think you see a lot of similar issues here that are playing out nationwide. democrats are talking a lot about abortion, abortion rights. they are talking about president trump and project 2025. the republicans are talking about immigration quite a bit.

in a document person had committed a crime and dilate those issues. the economy is an issue that is high on voters concerns. host: we have a question for you, is anyone organizing alternate electors for wisconsin? guest: vance in reference to 2020 when the republicans here under advice from attorneys connected with president trump voted in the slate of electors in casey won the state, people who attempted to cast wisconsin's 10 electoral votes for president trump even though he had lost the state to president biden. those people involved in that were sued civilly and they entered a settlement under which they said they would never serve as electors again and there's

also a criminal investigation ongoing into the attorneys are involved and there are charges pending their. there's no public attempt at this point being discussed, a slate of electors. the republican party has been very clear that they have no intention of doing that, someone of the elect -- none of the electors who served last time are on the slate of electors this time. at this point at least that is not something that is being public discussed. host: eau claire, wisconsin, good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. my question is one, who did the balancer madison wisconsin to milwaukee.

why there was so few and then the day before the last election, the presidential election, and thother presidential election this with mr. morgan, who drove a tractor trailer truck from new york to philadelphia and had mass quantities of ballots, and that is, in my opinion, is an illegal act. so if you could respond to that, thank you very much. guest: i'm not familiar with either one of those examples that you provided, i'm sorry. host: virginia, harris supporter, good morning. caller: one comment, which is that i wonder currently due wisconsin's wonder

only the candidate can request a , not an outside group, voter, or anyone else. in 2020 has it lost. he was within the margin. he opted to request recounts only in the two most heavily democratic counties of wisconsin, milwaukee and dana.

and if memory serves after the recount it changed the votes by 78 total. it's a very minimal change following to be count. -- following the recount. there have been other recount in wisconsin. in recent years, it has to be a very slim margin for there to be a recount. and it to the earlier question about the age issue. this is something that is asked about. it was an issue with democrats and president biden. it does not seem to be as large of an issue with donald trump for whatever reason. it is something democrats talk about. it is it something former president obama talked about and governor tim walz talked about yesterday in madison. democrats are definitely talking about it. it does not seem to be resonating as much. as much as it was among democrats with biden.

>> host: are there referendum questions in wisconsin that will increase voter participation this election. >> there is one statewide referendum and a number of local ones that could drive up or turn in local communities, schools, and cities asking for more funding. but that question was put on the ballot by the republican-controlled legislature. the way it works on wisconsin is if you want to amend the state constitution the legislature has to pass a major -- measure at two consecutive sessions that goes on the ballot for voters to consider. and only after the voters vote on it would the constitution possibly be amended. the question on the ballot this fall from republicans is essentially affirming in the state constitution that only u.s. citizens can vote. opponents to that say it is not necessary because it's already

them all. and it is an attempt to drive up republican turnout. and put something into law which will only create problems down the line. supporters say there is no reason not to have it. that we need to be explicitly clear only citizens can vote. that's one referendum on the ballot. >> -- host: let's talk to judy in rocky top, tennessee, a trump supporter. caller: i'm concerned about early voting. i was wondering if you had an early voting policy. i could see if it is two or three days before voting day. i am finding it is now being utilized as a tool as it day today there are more republicans voting now. there are more democrats voting. my understanding was early voting was supposed to be kept secret and on november 5 we

count all the votes. do you have early voting in wisconsin? what is the purpose for it? >> that is a very good question. it bears explanation in wisconsin. in wisconsin voters don't register by party. so, anyone with any community with absentee ballots coming in, whether cast in person or by mail, there is no way to know for sure whether it came from a republican or democrat. the parties will look at the counties where they are coming from and say it's a primarily republican county or primarily a democratic county. so we feel good about the number of ballots coming in. in other states that's not always the case. other states know how many republicans have returned ballots. they know how many democrats returned. they don't know who they voted for but they know a certain number of republican or democratic ballots have been returned in the state. in wisconsin early voting began

yesterday. absentee voting has been going on since late september. so after yesterday, i would hazard a guess probably we have over .5 million ballots that have come in. nobody needs who they voted for and they won't until election day when they are processed. the ballots aren't counted in terms of opening them and figuring out who they voted for until election day. early voting has been controversial here. it's a two week window. the democrats have always wanted it to be longer are doing the more time you get people to vote, the easier you make it, the more participation you will have. president trump used to be against early voting. this election he and republicans are in favor of it. he has been touting it at his rallies around the country and in wisconsin. the state republican party in wisconsin is all about early

voting. yesterday we had many republican officeholders and members of congress casting ballots. candidates. eric company the senate candidate voted early yesterday on this theory on both sides. if you bank the boat -- vote now you don't have to worry about getting them out later. you don't have to worry about a november weather problem in wisconsin. you don't have to worry about someone getting sick. potentially you can use your resources to focus on other people that have not voted. the person that has voted can do other things to maybe get out voters on their side. so both parties at this time around are very much embracing early voting. i think that's why was already long lines yesterday that first day. host: when in madison, wisconsin asks, is the wisconsin fox valley/fox city area red or purple this cycle? scott: good question.

it is an area that's pretty conservative. there are democratic pockets. it is an area where both campaigns have spent a lot of time in trying to swing voters. it is an area that i mentioned where it is outside of madison and milwaukee, and not exclusively rural. in the fox family that have larger populations. it is an area that's always hard-fought i am wisconsin. it is one we will be watching on election night as returns come in. host: let's talk to mike in racine, wisconsin. mike: i'm curious. is senator ron johnson being investigated for his role in the fake a? i noticed fake electors were handed through one of his aides to pass to mike pence. i know that during the election with him and mandela barnes it

became an issue and he basically lied about not having a role in that. i was wondering if there was an investigation on. ron johnson was involved with that. i remember him being questioned by reporters. he basically tried to say he had nothing with you -- nothing to do with that when, in actuality, he did. i will take your hands off line. guest: i can say that the electors were sued in civil court. they entered into a settlement. attorneys were involved in that scheme. they are facing federal charges right now. those charges are pending. there are no charges against senator johnson. if he was investigated as a part of any of this by the state department of we do not know. host: richard in massachusetts a trump supporter.

caller: i voted early for donald and jd vance because they are more likable. that is the other ticket. they are just people i just don't like. i am also a part time golfer. i so enjoyed donald trump golfing comments on arnold palmer. not all of them. but he is a likable guy and i want to have somebody that is joyful and has a sense of humor and that is it strong and will not be pushed around by vladimir putin. host: any comments? likability is something both candidates are trying to achieve. they hope voters can latch onto that. obviously, kamala harris, when she got into the race, talked a lot about bringing joy to the campaign. tim walz, the governor of

neighboring minnesota has brought a large element of midwestern vibe, the data vibe. it donald trump, obviously, as the caller said, is very much liked by his supporters. very much not liked by the other side. obviously, the other side does not see the joy factor in kamala harris that democrats do. >> let's go to green bay, wisconsin. tim, good morning. caller: nice to be on. i haven't been on in a long time. i was just going to say that i was surprised kennedy could not go through the primaries. and that he made it onto the wisconsin ballot. he won't be taken off the ballot , even though he was asked to be. the only reason i voted for trump was because kennedy would be in his administration.

i think that it cleaning up the fda, nih, and cdc is one of the most important things right now for people's health. 95% of c-span callers just regurgitate what is on the mainstream media. if you could have a show where they -- only people get their news from truly independent news people it would be an interesting show. but, i think kennedy and his website the children's health defense has a lot of good information. maybe we could talk on how kennedy could not get off the bat it and wisconsin? thank you. guest: robert f. kennedy, jr. submitted paperwork to be on the

ballot as a presidential candidate in wisconsin. after he did that, he suspended his campaign. he supported president trump. then he asked or attempted to have his name removed from the ballot. but, wisconsin law says once you have submitted the paperwork and it has been approved for you to be on the ballot the only way you can get out -- off the bat it is if you die. he filed a lawsuit. it went to the state supreme court. and as i mentioned earlier the supreme court is controlled by liberal justices. the ruling that upheld his remaining on the ballot was unanimous. robert ask entities name is. both have shown -- polls have shown that the affect him being on the ballot in wisconsin is likely to be very small. but it is a state where

presidential elections are determined by very few boats -- votes. the past few have been decided by around 21,000 votes. every little thing can potentially have impact. host: anything on the rumor that 40,000 inactive voters voted? guest: there are a lot of rumors out there. nearly all of them are not true. there are a lot of unsubstantiated rumors related to voters voting that are intelligible or for whatever theory that is out there. and that the nonpartisan wisconsin election commission controlled by a bipartisan board has been very clear and very forthright putting information out there to counter most of the faucets out there.

there is a vast amount of information on their website explaining in great detail the way of voter rolls work in wisconsin and the way voting operates. again, republicans and democrats serving on the commission that oversees elections here. host: david in bradenton, florida harris supporter. good morning. caller: a god created mankind in his mortal image. does donald trump reflect the image? i would like to ask that question of christian women and women in general. would you marry an immoral man like donald trump or counsel your daughter to marry a guilty immoral man like donald trump to be part of your family? i would say not. this is the question that americans have to ask

themselves. when they go and vote, to ask themselves, what would they want this man to be part of their family? when you vote for president, he actually becomes part of your family. you want this man to be part of your family? i surely don't. thanks. guest: any comments on that, scott? guest: that's a question for my pastor. host ruby in pikeville, kentucky. caller: i am a trump supporter and i think donald trump has shown what he could do and would do. -- kamala harris has made reports on tv where he said he would do 1 -- she said she would do one thing and then turned around and changed her mind. i would love to have him in my family. thank you.

host: james in fairmont, west virginia a harris supporter. caller: i just want to say about the last elections. when louisiana lost 273,000 tons of produce brought in on the ground. and they could not get migrant workers to come because the

border wasn't so locked up. by donald trump. they could not get farmworkers to come across the border to pick the fruit and take it to market. host: scott bauer, comment on illegal immigration and also about donald trump's plans for mass deportation, how that is playing out in wisconsin, and what impact it may have on the dairy industry there. caller: wisconsin is not a border state with the southern border or a border state with canada. but this issue has been one that has been talked about a lot. especially by republicans. the dairy industry, obviously, wisconsin is the dairy state. it relies on workers from all over the place for the industry.

there has been a lot of talk about it, as i said, on the republican side. democrats tend to not bring it up as much, or at least when they do, to talk about it in terms of president trump's interference with the bipartisan immigration bill that was unable to get through congress that he opposed and had republicans blocked. host: let's talk to jeff next in california. you are an undecided voter, jeff. caller: yes, i am. host: what issues are you looking for to make you decide. guest: i want to ask your caller why they wouldn't take kennedy off the ballot but took president biden off? host: so rfk junior won't get

off the ballot but by then can. host -- guest: it is different because president biden it was a democratic party nominee in wisconsin and the party nominated harris to be their nominee before the process was finished. so she was able to be put on there. whereas, kennedy was running as an independent candidate. there was a different deadline and procedure in wisconsin. host: wisconsin has 10 electoral votes. the unemployment rate is lower than the national average. i believe over 4%. does it impact anything at all as far as voters in wisconsin? hook guest -- guest: we will

see. the unemployment rate has been that we are a number of years. the issues that wisconsin faces that other midwest states face is that they need more people to come to wisconsin and take the jobs that are available. there is not an unemployment challenge. the economy, the state economy has been strong. the state budget is in good shape. there is a budget surplus. a lot of things are going well with the economy. you hear voters talking about their unhappiness with it. i think that they are primarily talking about inflation. the cost of goods and services having gone up. but the unemployment rate, as you mentioned, it's very low. most people who want to jobs in wisconsin have jobs and if they don't they can find one. host: a harris supporter in maryville, tennessee.

patricia. caller: i want to make a comment to dictator donald trump and his supporters. who do they think is going to do farm work and other stuff when all of the immigrants are gone? do they not realize that the poor and the middle class will be under them just like it is in russia? these people need to wake up. listen with your ears and look with your eyes. host: scott bauer. guest: not a question. host: brenda, a trump supporter in fort lee, new jersey. caller: i am calling with regards to president trump. i think when he gets this, he will do the good stuff when he was in office. he has my vote. kamala harris, if she gets in america is done.

i can't understand why anybody would vote for that woman. she is not for america. please vote for donald trump. host: we got a text from diane in morristown new jersey. you mentioned there would be problems making sure noncitizens don't vote. what problems? guest: i am not sure what i said that she is referring to. but i think that the concern from opponents of the citizenship question have said if it is adopted then it is a means for people to come them up -- gum up the elections process in wisconsin by adding words they argue are needed. adding language redundant to

what is already there opens the door to potential legal challenges and other things that wouldn't be necessary. host: let's talk to a wisconsin resident from fond du lac, wisconsin, betty. good morning. caller: i have not heard this address yet. i am 82. tomorrow i will walk into the fond du lac comedy -- fond du lac colony building again and cast my vote. i recently saw on the news that a lot of polling places have done reinforcement of their locations and have concern about what will happen if the vote does not go the way either party wants it to. i am not concerned so much about the democrat.

but when former president trump said there would be a bloodbath, remembering january 6 and how terrifying that was, i wish you could address that. guest: if you touch on a point that is very much on the minds of election officials not only in wisconsin, but around the country, potential violence at the polls on election day. i saw the chair of the wisconsin's election commission this week saying her biggest concern, her biggest fear on election day is that a worker would be harmed. for whatever reason. unfortunately, that is the environment we are living in. there is heightened security at some polling locations. there is definitely more information out there about how to remain safe while voting. hopefully most of that is just a precautionary step being taken. but honestly, with the rhetoric out there, the fears, the

misinformation that circulates around elections, there is great concern among election officials about security and safety this election. host: scott bauer is the statehouse correspondent for the associated press. find his work at apnews.com. plants live in georgia we are expecting to hear from republican presidential nominee former president donald trump at this town hall in zebulun, south of atlanta along with the statement in the governor. his remarks are scheduled to start shortly here on c-span.

>> as we wait to hear from republican presidential nominee donald trump in georgia we will have live coverage this evening of incumbent new york senator kristin jill o'bannon and her republican challenger holding a debate for the state senate seat at 7:00 p.m. eastern. watch the campaign event live on c-span it now our free mobile video app or online at c-span.org.

we also want to let you know tonight we will have a live tour of the white house experience

center, a block from the people's house with the president of the white house historical association walking through the three-story center and checking out the highlights just down the street from 1600 pennsylvania avenue including a large scale replica of the white house south façade and a full scale replica of the oakville office with digital recreations allowing visitors to feel like they are sitting in on cabinet meetings and state dinners. we will take your calls on the exhibit and presidential history. live tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. ["you will never walk alone" by elvis pressley playing]

13 days until election day and in georgia at the republican presidential nominee former president donald trump will speak at a stay focused town hall in zebulun, georgia and we will see the state lieutenant governor bert jones. we expect this to get over -- underway with shortly.

with mordecai lee, professor of politics at milwaukee wisconsin. what is your take on the state of the presidential race right now in wisconsin? guest: in one respect as a professor it's fun to live in a battleground state. there are people that live in 43 states that get nada. and we in these states get a lot. it's so politicized. the other day i was learning the a commercial station. they broke for a commercial. i am used to seeing a putter to

quiet here and there. but in this case, every single add in the commercial break was political. eve are for the president or the u.s. senate race. my jaw dropped. i have never seen so much political advertising. and i have to tell you, some of the odds are brutal. in their attacks. again, i have never seen it. so as a professor i find it alarming. but as a private citizen and a resident of wisconsin i can't wait until this election is over and people in milwaukee all say the same thing. they wanted to be over. host: there have been a lot of visits by the candidates. have you gotten a chance to go to a rally or meet a candidate face-to-face? guest: there are a lot of visits. i haven't gone to any of the events.

i see a trend in in person visits. this week they were experiencing i think four events from the kamala harris campaign and only one event announced by the front campaign, by senator vance sunday. of course it is early in the week and they do a lot of last-minute scheduling. but to me this strikes me as a little off balance. just two weeks ago there was a similar off balance. and i am wondering, if they decided to bomb pennsylvania and north carolina so much that they are willing to let wisconsin slide. now, it's possible that the donald trump campaign has fewer visits for any number of reasons. but one possibility is, in their internal polling they think they have got wisconsin. and it could be the opposite example. that it is so close, they figure

they might lose it. we are at only 10 electoral votes. maybe they would rather have their candidates spend more time in north carolina or pennsylvania. but something odd is going on and i don't know quite what it is. it might be meaningful. i am not experiencing much doorknocking. i'm getting a little bit in the mail. but what is really awful is the messages i am getting through text and instant messaging. i probably get 10 to 15 a day. asking me to vote, telling me to vote, tell me how to vote. sometimes you can tell from the name of the organization if it leans left or were that's right. sometimes you cannot. i am getting a ton of so-called surveys, all of which, i suspect, are really camouflage. sometimes i have to turn off my phone because it is too much.

host: speaking of visits by candidates i want to show a portion of the jd vance visit to wisconsin. he talked about issues of christianity. i will have you respond. >> i want to talk particularly to people of faith. i know we have a lot of catholics here. i don't talk a lot about my faith because sometimes you just talk about other things. you talk about public policy. i am a devout christian that was baptized for the first time in 2019. i returned to my faith as a young man and got baptized. so i say this as a christian, as a prison that was baptized for the first time just a few years ago, there is something really bizarre with kamala harris's anti-christian rhetoric and approach to public policy. if that is right.

i don't think we have seen anything like this in modern american politics. this video, gretchen whitmer, the governor of michigan. that's right. i agree. gretchen whitmer was a really bizarre thing. she acts like she is giving somebody communion, but it's a doritos. and of course, gretchen whitmer is not a minister of anything except a church i don't necessarily want to talk about. think about how sacrilegious that is and how offensive it is to every person, frankly whether you are a person of christian faith or not. donald trump will fight for your rights to live your values. that is what the first amendment protects.

>> your comments on the religious makeup of wisconsin and the other things he said? guest: i think this is what we would expect in conventional politics. winning an election by addition, not subtraction. hear what he is doing is trying to add more catholics to be trump voters and trump supporters. you are right that it on the demography of wisconsin we have an above average percentage of catholics compared to some other states. i do not know the latest statistics. i would guess probably 30%-40%. it is a ton of voters. they have a lot of other poles and directions that could influence who they decide to vote for. but wisconsin was a good place for him to talk about the catholic voter. host: to join the conversation with mordecai lee, professor

emeritus at milwaukee wisconsin university republicans 202748 8001, democrats 204 748-8000, independents 74 -- 202-7488 thousand two. for wisconsin residents 202748 8003. that is what you can use to text us and post on social media. i want to show you an advertisement being ran in swing states attacking joel stein: her a spoiler. >> jill stein. green party candidate for president. she isn't sorry she is helping donald trump win. that is why a vote for jill stein is really a vote for donald trump.

donald trump: joe stein i like her. she takes 100% from them. host: is that true, professor? would any jill stein voters in wisconsin becoming from potential terrorist supporters? what you think of that? guest: i have not seen that advertisement on my tv. it they have an assessment of the wisconsin voter in terms of jill stein that they aren't as concerned about joe stein in wisconsin as the six other battleground states. but the political logic of the advertisement is true, definitely for wisconsin that eight years ago, i think it is fair to say that joe stein being on the ballot and getting about 2%-3% of the vote, that if she had not been on the ballot and had most of those folks going to

hillary clinton, hillary clinton would have won wisconsin instead of donald trump. donald trump won wisconsin by about 23,000 votes out of 3000 -- 3 million cast. that scenario could happen again. i am guessing that the overnight polling they are doing that wisconsin is perhaps telling them that jill stein is not as big of a factor as perhaps she was eight years ago in wisconsin, or as she perhaps is and continues to be in the other six battleground states. host: i want to ask you about a house race in the third district in the western part of wisconsin. the incumbent is a close ally of president being challenged by democrat republican rebecca cook. would you know about that race and how it may turn out?